UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   SAN  DIEGO 


3  182201591  6299 


NIVKRSITY  O* 

>UFORNIA 

SANDIteO 


Central  University  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall  after  two  weeks. 

Date  Due 


MAR23B94 


AUG  Q.3 1993 


Cl  39  (1/91) 


UCSDLib. 


THE  STORY 


OF 


DAUGHTER  OF  SAMOA. 


GIVING    HER    LIFE,  MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS   OF   THE   ISLANDERS,  PECULIARITIES   OF   THE 

RACE,   GAMES,    AMUSEMENTS,    INCIDENTS   OF    MANY   KINDS,  AND   MATTERS 

OF   INTEREST    IN    CONNECTION    WITH    THE   SAMOAN    PEOPLE. 


ALSO,  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF 

ALEXANDER    A.    WILLIS, 

(HER  HUSBAND.) 

Illustrated.  \vith  Portraits,  Engravings,  &c 


EDITED    BY    WM.    H.    BARNES. 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 

JoS.  WlNTERBURN    &   Co. ,  PRINTERS  AND    ELECTROTYPERS.  417   CLAY  STREET. 

1889. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
eighty-nine, 

By  ALEXANDER  A.  WILLIS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


All  rights  reserved. 


CONTENTS. 


AMUSEMENTS — Bathing,  16;  Saruoan  dance,  51;  Picnic,  82; 

The  Tagatia,  144;  Checkers,  193. 
ANECDOTES — A  Broken  Promise,  61  ;  My  Pig,  91;  Cooking 

Apples,  93;  Daniel  Jennings,  97;  The  Patosina  Mat, 

100;    Story   of    the   Devil,  158;    Eating  People,  169; 

Death  Canoe,  198;  'Jhe  Sliding  Eock  Fall,  239. 

ANIMALS — 36. 

AVA  (Kava) — How  Made,  49. 

CEREMONIES — King's  Funeral,  42;  Giving  Presents,  86; 
Making  a  King,  138;  Tattooing,  161;  Talking  Man,  165; 
Making  Love,  166. 

CHILDREN — Treating  Babies,  33;  Obedience,  166. 

COOKING — Breakfast,  15;  Bananas,  152;  Bread  fruit,  165. 

DOCUMENTS — Marriage  Certificate,  89;  A  Prized  Letter,  1415 
Tui's  Letter,  177;  Farmers  Recommendation,  183;  Te- 
koris  Letter,  199;  Maleitoa's  Letters,  211;  Dr.  Turner's 
ijetter,  219;  Commander  Day's  Report — Official,  229. 

EDUCATION— How  we  are  Taught,  129;  230. 

EXTRACTS — Pearls  of  Pacific,  237;  Lady's  Cruise,  241;  South 
Sea  Bubbles,  254. 

FEASTS— The  Tafolo,  87;  Welcome  Dinner,  127. 

FISH  AND  FISHING— Pages  65,  146,  168. 

FLOWERS — 168. 

FRUITS  AND  NUTS — 46,  151. 

GEOGRAPHICAL — Savaii,  233;  Upolu,  234;  Manono,  235;  Apo- 
lima,  236;  Pango-Pango,  236;  Apia,  1:37. 

HOUSES — 63,  167. 

HOME  LIFE — Beds,  14;  Water  Buckets,  15;  Beauty  Locks, 
17;  Love  Letters,  38;  Perfumery,  46;  Meat,  64;  Mak- 
ing fire,  90 ;  Making  Tappa,  238. 

INCIDENTS — A  War,  18;  St.  Foy's  Murder,  28;  Losing  Our 
Land,  37;  Mr.  Willis  made  a  Chief,  127;  Raising  the 
German  War  Flag,  133;  My  Father's  Death,  135;  The 
Minstrel  Show,  217;  The  Recent  Disaster  at  Samoa,  255. 


6  Contents. 

LANGUAGE — Peculiarities,  227,  237. 

LAULII — Birth  and  Parentage,  10;  Early  Recollections,  12; 
First  Work  for  Pay,  17;  Going  to  School,  52;  A  Sweet- 
heart, 56;  Family  Discussion,  59;  Married  to  a  Native, 
60;  Trouble,  66;  Selia's  theft,  he  is  banished  and  she 
is  set  free,  75;  Runs  away  and  is  brought  back,  77; 
Meets  Mr.  Willis,  88;  Queer  Housekeeping,  90; 
Mother's  Counsel,  99;  Leaves  Samoa,  101;  In  New 
Zealand,  102;  Steamer  for  America,  107;  California,  109; 
The  Kind  Teacher,  113;  Learning  English,  115:  Lost 
in  the  City,  117;  Promise  to  Mrs.  Bruce,  119;  Return 
to  Samoa,  129;  Dress  Making,  123;  Going  to  America 
Again,  173;  "No  Sabe,"  My  Boy,  174,  227.  (See  In- 
cidents, Anecdotes,  Legends,  etc.,  etc.) 

MISSIONARY  WORK — Dr.  Turner,  323;  College  at  Matua,  240; 
Mission  W»rk,  245;  Giving  up  Idols,  250;  Various 
Denominations,  252. 

PERSONAL — Captain  Pennell,  Mrs.  Marler,  104,  203;  Mr. 
Driffield,  108;  Mr.  and  Mrs  Mclntosh,  112;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Farrell,  Mrs.  Bruce,  116;  Mr.  Case,  117;  Mrs. 
James,  Mr.  Naismith,  118;  Captain  Smith,  121;  My 
Sister  Tan,  !'->!,  172;  Captain  Hamilton,  Fred  Turner, 
122;  Sister  Mary,  140;  Mr.  Kellett.  142;  Seumanu,  170; 
My  Niece  Ila,  171;  Mr.  Weber,  175;  Tulietufuga,  189; 
Tekori,  190;  Ufie.  193;  King  Kalakau,  204;  KingMal- 
ietoa,  207,  211;  American  Firms,  etc,  208;  Mataafa, 
Tamasese,  Amituani,  Father  Alvord,  212-215;  Captain 
Chandler,  216;  Old  Dr.  Turner,  218  (see  223);  Uncle 
Bruce,  228;  Miss  C.  F.  Gordan  Cumming's  Book,  251. 

RELIGIOUS  MATTERS — 39,  41,  42. 

WILLIS,  ALEXANDER  A. — Birth  and  Parentage,  181 ;  Work  for 
a  Farmer,  Father's  Advice,  183;  ''Go  to  Church  Every 
Sunday,"  184;  In  Boston,  185;  Goes  to  California  and 
Samoa,  186;  Meets  Laulii,  187;  Drinking  Ava,  191; 
Three-linkers,  194;  Visit  to  Apolima,  195;  The  Tulafale's 
Death,  197;  Return  to  America,  200;  At  Fiji,  202;  Odd 
Fellowship,  203;  Honolulu,  205;  At  Samoa  Again,  ^06; 
Buildinga  Fort, 207;  Comments  on  Investments,  Shoddy 
etc,  211;  Malietoa,  Mataafa,  Tamasese,  Amituanai,  212; 
Father  Alvord,  214;  Cause  of  Trouble,  221;  Acknowledg- 
ments, 222.  (See  Incidents,  etc.) 


KNORA.VINOS. 


PAGE. 

APIA— Harbor 216 

Scene  near 24 

APOLIMA  136 

FRUITS— Breadfruit,  2  varieties 56 

Custard  Apple  and  Mango 152 

Guava 256 

HOUSES— A  Native  House  200 

Dr.  Turner's  Mission  School 223 

PORTRAITS— Ila  (Laulii's  Niece) 120 

Laulii  (present  time) • 2 

"  14  years  of  age 88 

Maleitoa— The  deported  King  232 

Mataafa — The  present  King 248 

Road  through  a  Cocoanut  Grove 40 

Seumanutafa — Chief  of  Apia 168 

Seumanutafa's  Wife — Faatulia 168 

Tafiau— (Laulii's  Sister) 120 

Tarnasese — Vice  King ...  248 

Tuiletufuga  of  Apia  (Laulii's  Brother) 232 

Uncle  Bruce  (a  character) 228 

Willis,  Alexander  A.  (present  time) 184 

"  "14  years  of  age 88 

"  Tuiletufuga 226 

Waterfalls— Falefa  Cascade 104 

"  Papasee  "  27 


arc 


<i  T~7^    ±'         " 

lr)0:r)  J>icli0r). 


"/  brirjg  to  you  to-day  a  garland  of  tropical  flowers  with  little  original 
of  my  own  except  the  string  that  binds  them." 


The  interest  that  is  centered  to-day  around  Samoan 
matters  will  render  peculiarly  acceptable  the  narrations 
embraced  in  this  volume. 

Without  striving  to  make  sensational  points  or  situations, 
or  endeavoring  to  throw  any  air  of  mystery  around  facts  or 
to  exaggerate  or  extenuate,  I  feel  assured  that  the  plain, 
simple  statements  of  Laulii  and  her  husband  will  prove  of 
interest  and  attraction  to  the  people  of  America,  as  well  as 
to  those  of  other  nations;  and  especially  to  our  women, 
whose  hearts  are  ever  warm  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  and 
whose  best  energies  and  hearty  sympathies  may  ever  be 
depended  upon  where  there  is  good  to  be  done  or  happiness 
to  be  accomplished. 

The  story  of  this  young  woman,  a  true  daughter  of  Samoa, 
her  experiences,  trials,  and  incidents  of  her  life,  together 
with  those  of  her  husband,  who  certainly  has  had  in  his 
own  experience  a  more  than  ordinary  eventful  existence, 
stated  in  their  own  way  without  attempt  at  embellishment, 
will,  I  am  confident,  be  read  and  referred  to,  as  something 
out  of  the  usual  course  of  affairs. 

The  narrative  has  been  taken  directly  from  the  lips  of 
the  parties  themselves,  and  in  transferring  them  to  print, 
the  desire  has  been  to  preserve  as  far  as  possible  their  actual 
language,  rather  than  clothe  the  story  in  smooth  expressions 
or  well  rounded  sentences,  believing  that  the  peculiarities 
of  the  narrators  possess  a  charm  of  their  own.  While  en- 
deavoring to  retain  a  sort  of  sequence  connecting  the  various 
incidents  as  to  point  of  time,  yet  as  here  and  there  descrip- 
tions and  incidents  would  be  related,  they  have  been  placed 
as  narrated  under  sub-heads :  While,  therefore,  there  is  a 
marked  difference  in  the  composition  of  this  volume  from 
the  usual  and  customary  style  our  American  readers  are 
familiar  with,  it  is  hoped  that  the  departure  will  not  prove 
unacceptable.  THE 


LAULI  I 


i  (Pronounced  Low-lee.) 


I  have  been  requested  to  give  to  the  world  a 
sketch  of  my  life,  including  a  description  of  my 
tropical  native  land,  together  with  the  domestic 
customs,  habits,  amusements  and  legends  of  the 
far-away  country  of  Samoa.  In  doing  so  I  have  a 
two-fold  object:  One  is  to  make  other  lands  bet- 
ter acquainted  with  my  people,  and  the  other  is, 
by  means  of  the  sale  of  this  book  (the  profits  of 
which  are- to  be  religiously  devoted  to  said  purpose), 
to  practically  aid  in  redeeming,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  lands  of  which  my  people  have  been  deprived, 
and,  if  possible,  to  restore  to  them  the  soil  upon 
which  they  were  born,  and  which,  by  hereditary 
descent  and  long  occupancy,  is  theirs  by  right. 

I  do  not  know  that  my  life  will  present  more 
startling  instances  or  experiences  than  that  of  other 
women  in  other  lands ;  but  it,  at  least,  will  pos- 
sess the  merit  of  novelty  as  being  a  record  of  one 
who  comes  from  a  land  that  has  somewhat  the  rep- 
utation of  being  semi-barbarian,  and  of  which  the 
general  impression  is  that  little  of  learning  or  re- 
ligion, or  anything  that  is  good,  exists. 


10  Father  and  Mother. 

While,  of  course,  we  cannot  claim  those  ad- 
vantages of  education  and  refinement  surrounding 
more  favored  lands,  yet  I  will  try  to  show  that 
we  are  not  altogether  destitute  of  religion,  and 
that  we  are  early  taught  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  rectitude  and  right,  and  that  the  idea  of 
doing  what  is  correct  is  impressed  upon  us  at  an 
early  age. 

If  this  book  shall  serve  to  do  either  or  both  of 
what  has  been  alluded  to,  it  will  accomplish  the 
objects  for  which  it  is  presented ;  and  that  it  may 
do  so  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  Laulii. 

I  was  born  in  a  place  called  Laulii,  in  Upolu,  one 
of  the  Samoan  Islands,  on  the  12th  day  of  May, 
1865.  As  will  be  'seen,  my  name  is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  town  of  my  nativity;  my  father,  being 
a  chief,  was  entitled  to  give  his  daughter  the  same 
name  as  her  birth-place.  My  father  was  a  chief  of 
Fasitoouta,  a  town  in  Somoa  which  was  owned  by 
his  family,  and  where  he  was  born;  but,  while  he 
was  yet  a  little  boy,  his  father  being  dead,  his 
mother  married  the  leading  official  of  Apia,  whose 
name  was  Tuiletufuga  (Tu-lee-tu-fo-ner),  and  who 
was  what  is  termed  the  Tulafale  to  Apia,  which  means 
the  talking  man — prime  minister  or  representative 
of  the  chief  of  that  town.  My  mother's  name  was 
Pepeu  (pronounced  Papao). 

As  stated,  my  father's  mother  married  an  Apia 
man  and  removed  to  that  town,  where  another 
child,  a  daughter,  was  born.  This  Apia  man's 


Tula/ales.  11 

name  was  Tuiletufuga,  and  he  was  the  Tulafale  of 
Apia,  that  is,  a  minister  or  representative  of  the 
chief.  (A  peculiarity  of  the  manner  in  which  that 
nation  is  governed  is,  that  the  chiefs  really  do  not 
orally  advise  or  instruct  the  people,  but  have  a  prime 
minister  or  representative  who  is,  in  fact,  the  power. 
This  office  of  Tulafale  is  hereditary  and  is  of  such 
magnitude  that  while  he  can  appoint  a  chief,  a  chief 
cannot  appoint  a  Tulafale.  Every  town  has  a  chief 
and  Tulafale.)  As  my  father's  step-father  grew 
old,  he  insisted  upon  my  father  taking  his  family 
name  and  position,  to  which  my  father  had  no  here- 
ditary right,  as  he  was  of  right  and  birth  chief  of 
Fasitootai. 

This  Tuiletuf uga  was  by  hereditary  descent  one  of 
the  Tulafale,  and  knowing  the  advantage  and  power 
of  the  station,  wanted  his  step-son  to  assume  it, 
and  follow  him  in  succession;  and  my  father  not 
liking  to  be  restrained  from  speaking,  as  was  the 
custom  with  the  chiefs,  preferred  to  accept  and 
maintain  this  office  of  the  Tulafale,  although  his. 
own  relatives  wanted  him  to  return  to  his  native 
town  and  assume  the  position  of  chief  there. 

This  attempt  at  Tuiletuf  uga' s  to  make  his  step-son 
his  successor,  met  with  strenuous  opposition  on  the 
part  of  his  (Tuiletuf uga' s)  relatives,  who  argued  that 
in  case  of  his  death  or  resignation,  the  name  should 
come  to  his  own  family,  and  not  this  step-son;  but 
the  old  man  insisted  upon  his  position,  and  when 
there  was  to  be  a  grand  assemblage  of  people  at 


12  Bathing. 

which  he  should  have  spoken,  his  voice  failing  him, 
he  put  this  step-son  to  the  front  and  told  him  to 
speak  for  him  to  the  people,  and  he  did  so,  and  was 
afterward  formally  elected  by  the  people  in  the 
manner  hereafter  described. 

EARLIEST    RECOLLECTIONS. 

My  earliest  recollections  are  of  the  water,  for  be  it 
known  to  my  good  readers,  that  water  seems  to  be 
the  natural  element  of  all  Samoans.  A  Samoan  girl 
takes  to  the  water  as  naturally  as  a  duck ;  from  the 
time  that  they  can  toddle  alone,  they  are  at  the 
river's  edge,  rolling  and  splashing  in  the  water.  At 
an  early  age  they  are  expert  swimmers  and  leap 
from  cliffs,  trees  and  other  high  elevations  into  the 
sea  or  river  with  perfect  fearlessness  and  security. 
In  the  management  of  boats  and  canoes,  they  are 
equally  expert ;  the  upsetting  of  a  boat,  even  amid 
a  rolling  surf,  carries  to  them  no  sense  of  danger; 
it  is  merely  a  mishap  or  joke. 

The  bathing  hour  of  the  day  is  the  signal  for  a 
great  gathering,  as  it  is  at  Santa  Cruz  or  Monterey, 
in  California,  and  sea  resorts  generally,  with  this 
difference,  that  the  Samoan  girls  and  women  al- 
ways bathe  at  different  places  from  that  where  the 
men  and  boys  do. 

We  Samoan  girls  are  never  taught  to  swim — we 
til  ways  know  how.  My  mother  took  me  to  the 
water  herself,  for  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  that  country 
that  mothers  themselves  take  care  of  their  own 
children,  and  do  not  transfer  them  to  nurses  to 


Games.  13 

watch  over.  From  earliest  childhood  the  seashore 
is  the  play-ground  of  the  Samoan  children;  and 
even  as  the  American  boys  and  girls  make  their 
mud  pies  and  toad  holes  in  the  sand,  and  build  cas- 
tles and  barriers  and  bulwarks  to  keep  out  the  in- 
coming tide,  even  so  do  the  Samoans  have  their 
games  of  many  characters  and  names  which  they 
play  at  the  water's  edge.  So  for  three  or  four 
years  the  principal  points  in  my  recollections  are 
these  playings  by  the  seashore,  and  that  free,  care- 
less, thoughtless  life  which  only  little  children 
experience. 

PLAYING    MARBLES. 

I  remember  that  somewhere  from  six  to  eight 
years  of  age  I  possessed  a  remarkable  reputation 
as  an  expert  marble  player.  But  my  readers  must 
not  imagine  that  the  marbles  we  used  were  the 
handsome  striped  and  speckled  compositions  so  dear 
to  the  hearts  of  children  in  civilized  countries. 
Oh,  no;  our  marbles  were  vegetable,  and  grew  in 
pods,  like  peas,  on  a  tree  called  fuafue.  From  six 
to  a  dozen  of  these  marbles  grew  in  a  pod,  which 
we  opened  and  rejoiced  as  we  would  find  more  or 
less,  as  the  case  might  be,  of  these  spheres  that 
were  symmetrical,  hard  and  globular.  The  same 
as  elsewhere,  we  sometimes  played  for  fun,  but  I 
used  to  like  the  game  best  when  we  played  for 
"keeps,"  for  my  skill  always  insured  my  winning, 
as  a  rule  resulting  in  my  having  on  hand  always  a 
much  larger  stock  of  marbles  than  my  neighbors. 


14  Our  Avocations. 

CHILDREN'S  WORK. 

When  we  .first  rise  in  the  morning,  which  we  do 
about  daylight,  we  have  our  prayer  and  singing ;  our 
father  would  get  up  first  and  go  about  the  house  sing- 
ing and  wake  us  up,  saying:  "The  light  has  come; 
get  up,  go  and  do  your  work."  After  having 
roused  the  household  he  would  go  to  his  work, 
which  principally  consisted  of  planting  and  looking 
after  the  growth  of  the  various  vegetables  and 
fruits  upon  which  we  live.  When  he  was  gone 
mother  would  tell  us  to  go  outside  and  pick  up  all 
the  dirt  around  the  house,  and  make  everything 
clean  and  nice;  and  we  would  take  our  brooms, 
made  of  cocoanut  fibre,  and  sweep  until  every  par- 
ticle of  dirt  was  removed  and  everything  looked  nice ; 
then  we  would  spread  out  our  beds. 

BEDS. 

Our  beds  consisted  of  a  number  of  cocoanut  mats. 
Before  silver  and  gold  money  was  brought  into  our 
country,  mats  were  the  medium  of^exchange,  and 
varied  from  those  of  very  low  price  to  those  that 
were  worth  a  great  deal.  Our  beds  consisted  of  a 
number  of  mats  placed  upon  each  other — the  coars- 
est and  commonest  at  the  bottom  on  the  floor,  and 
others  being  placed  upon  those,  according  to  fineness, 
until  the  upper  one  was  soft  and  luxurious;  and 
upon  this  upper  one  we  slept.  As  the  mosquitos 
are  very  bad  in  Samoa,  especially  after  a  rain,  we 
had  a  kind  of  netting  we  placed  over  our  beds, 


Home  Life.  15 

somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a  tent,  to  keep  the  mos- 
quitos  out.  Making  up  our  beds  meant  to  take  up 
the  mats  and  shake  them  and  remove  \he  mosquito 
netting,  and  clear  everything  away.  This,  of 
course,  would  take  some  time;  when  we  had  fin- 
ished we  would  go  to  our  mother  and  say,  "We 
are  done  now;"  then  she  would  tell  us,  "Get  your 
buckets  and  go  and  bring  water." 

WATER    BUCKETS. 

Our  buckets  are  made  of  cocoanut  shells,  the 
three  holes  of  which  being  punched  out  and  strings 
put  through  two  holes,  we  used  for  holding  water; 
sometimes  we  would  have  six  or  eight  or  more  of 
these  little  buckets  for  each  one  to  carry,  and  hold- 
ing them  by  the  strings  would  bring  the  water  to 
the  house.  This  water  we  got  from  the  river  which 
was  some  few  hundred  yards  away,  and  getting  it 
in  the  early  morning,  it  was  cool;  placing  our 
buckets  in  a  cool  place  would  thus  procure  the 
supply  for  the  day.  All  this  would  be  done  before 
we  had  our  first  meal. 

COOKING    BREAKFAST. 

It  probably  will  be  interesting  to  my  lady  read- 
ers to  know  how  we  cooked.  Our  oven  is  a  circu- 
lar hole  dug  in  the  ground ;  our  mother  would  put 
large  and  small  sticks  of  wood  in  this  oven,  and  on 
these  sticks  place  stones,  and  also  wood  upon  the  top 
of  the  stones,  thus  making  quite  a  heap;  then  set 
the  wood  on  fire  which  would  burn  freely  and  heat 


16  Cooking. 

the  stones  very  hot.  When  the  wood  was  burned T 
with  a  pole  made  for  the  purpose,  she  would  scrape 
off  the  ashes  and  chunks,  and  brush  the  stones 
clean  and  place  the  food  (which  had  been  prepared 
and  wrapped  up  in  banana  leaves  and  consisted  of 
bread-fruit,  Talo  and  other  things),  upon  these 
stones,  the  heat  of  which  would  cook  them.  When 
this  was  cooked,  we  had  our  breakfast.  After 
breakfast  we  would  all  go  to  the  river  and  bathe ; 
the  boys  in  one  place  and  the  girls  in  another.  As 
stated  we  are  very  fond  of  water  and  love  to  get 
on  high  places,  trees  or  cliffs,  and  jump  into  the 
river.  A  number  of  us  would  get  into  deep  places 
and  stir  up  the  water  till  it  was  all  dark  with  mudr 
and  then  say  "Find  me,"  and,  diving  to  the  bot- 
tom, catch  hold  of  a  root  or  a  stone  and  stay  hid- 
ing under  the  water  for  a  remarkably  long  time, 
while  the  point  with  the  one  challenged  was  to  find 
us,  and  the  longer  we  could  evade  being  caught,  the 
better  the  fun. 

Before  the  white  people  came  we  had  no  soapr 
but  used  the  wild  orange  as  a  substitute,  which 
produced  a  profuse  lather.  Our  frolic  in  the  water 
over,  about  ten  o'clock  we  would  all  go  home  and 
sleep  till  three  or  four  o'clock,  then  wash,  eat,  fix 
up,  and  go  out  walking  and  visiting.  We  eat  an- 
other meal  about  dark  by  the  fire  or  lamp-light, 
then  played  games,  of  which  we  had  a  number- 
some  of  them  similar  to  checkers  and  dominos— 
until  we  are  tired — say  about  ten  o'clock;  then  eat 
a  parting  meal  and  go  to  bed. 


Personal  Decoration.  17 

BEAUTY   LOCKS. 

The  children's  heads  are  kept  shaved.  This  pro- 
cess was  performed  with  a  sharp  stone  or  piece  of 
bamboo  before  the  white  people  came  and  brought 
razors.  The  hair  was  all  taken  off  with  the  ex- 
ception of  what  would  be  termed  here  a  "beauty 
lock,"  which  was  left,  sometimes  in  front,  some- 
times at  the  side,  or  at  the  back  of  the  head ;  we 
called  this  lock  "sope."  It  was  a  matter  of  great 
care  with  our  mothers  to  have  this  "beauty  lock" 
in  an  attractive  condition;  and  when  there  was  to 
be  a  gathering  at  some  place  where  we  would  be 
present,  our  mothers  would  roll  up  this  lock  on 
burnt  coral,  which  makes  a  kind  of  lime,  and  this 
coral  would  bleach  our  hair  a  bright  red,  which  is 
the  favorite  color  in  our  country;  and  the  girl  who 
had  the  reddest  "sope"  attracted  the  most  favorable 
attention,  and  incidentally  reflected  credit  upon  her 
mother;  therefore,  we  spent  a  great  deal  of  time 
upon  our  "beauty  locks,"  as  pride  is  not  confined 
entirely  to  civilized  countries.  , 

FIRST    WORK    FOR    PAY. 

The  first  work  for  which  I  ever  received  any  pay 
was  picking  peppers  and  mushrooms  and  gather- 
ing orange  peel  for  an  American  whom  we  called 
Aipolo  (eating  peppers),  as  we  were  under  the  im- 
pression that  he  personally  ate  all  that  we  brought 
him.  We  gathered  these  peppers  in  baskets  made 
of  cocoanut  leaves.  These  baskets  would  hold 


18  War  Experience. 

from  three  to  ten  pound*,  according  to  size.  For 
four  pounds  of  this  produce  he  would  give  us  a 
ulole,"  which  was  a  small  candy  something  like 
a  lozenge  or  peppermint ;  but  for  ten  pounds  we  re- 
ceived an  enormous  reward — namely,  a  jewsharp. 
To  be  the  possessor  of  a  jewsharp  was  equivalent 
with  us  to  owning  a  grand  piano  in  America,  and 
that  each  girl  might  possess  one  of  these  musical 
instruments,  we  would  form  in  companies  and 
gather  peppers,  etc.,  until  the  ten  pounds  were  ac- 
cumulated; then  carrying  it  to  the  buyer,  the  jews- 
harp \vould  be  given  to  one  girl  one  day,  and  an- 
other the  next,  etc.,  until  all  of  us  were  in  posses- 
sion of  the  coveted  instruments. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    A    WAR. 

The  northern  half  of  Upolu  is  called  Tumasaga, 
and  the  southern  half,  and  the  other  islands  are 
called  Atua.  Between  fifteen  and  twenty  years 
ago,  the  present  king,  Malietoa's  father,  died,  and 
a  new  king  had  to  be  chosen.  The  people  of  Tau- 
masaga  wanted  Malietoa  as  king  while  Atua  wanted 
Tupua  Tamasese,  the  present  rebel.  This  led  to  war. 
(The  women  accompany  the  men  and  while  they 
are  fighting,  the  women  gather  food  from  the  bush 
and  after  preparing  it  send  their  children  to  bring 
it  to  their  fathers  and  brothers — each  woman  gath- 
ers for  her  own  family.)  The  first  battle  took 
place  near  Apia,  at  Matautu.  Malietoa's  party  was 
small  but  always  victorious;  to  this  party  my  fam- 
ily belonged,  and  went  with  my  mother  to  the  bush 


Dangerous  Position.  19 

to  gather  bread-fruit,  cocoanuts,  etc.  When  we 
returned  my  mother  prepared  the  food  and  put 
water  in  the  cocoanut  shells,  and  sent  me  to  take 
it  to  my  father. 

I  was  then  about  six  years  old,  but  I  followed 
the  older  girls  and  in  that  way  came  to  the  fort ;  as 
we  approached  the  other  children  all  got  down  and 
crept  along  through  the  grass,  telling  me  to  do  the 
same.  We  crept  on  toward  the  fort  with  the  bul- 
lets whizzing  over  our  heads,  and  at  the  entrance  I 
saw  one  of  the  houses  made  of  banana  leaves,  which 
the  Samoans  put  up  and  rest  in  when  they  are  not 
fighting.  I  entered  this  house  and  saw  what  I 
thought  to  be  a  lot  of  pigs  lying  around  under  the 
banana  leaves.  I  was  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of 
fresh  pork  and  began  to  laugh  and  speak  of  it  to 
the  others ;  but  they  told  me  to  be  still,  that  it  was 
not  pigs  but  dead  men.  I  looked  again  and  now 
saw  the  headless  bodies  still  quivering  and  moving 
under  the  leaves.  I  began  to  cry  arid  scream  and 
wanted  to  see  my  father,  and  continued  crying  for 
my  father,  while  the  other  girls  went  to  find,  very 
often  only  the  dead  bodies  of  their  own  fathers. 

While  I  sat  there  calling  for  my  father,  my 
cousin  came  and  I  asked  him  where  my  father  was 
and  if  he  was  dead;  he  said  "No,  he  is  not  dead, 
he  is  over  there."  I  told  him  I  had  some  food  to 
take  to  my  father,  and  he  said:  "All  right,  give  me 
the  cocoanut  and  basket  and  I  will  show  you  where 
your  father  is." 


20  War  Incidents. 

We  crawled  along,  I  thinking  every  minute  my 
father  would  be  killed,  until  we  came  to  where  he 
was  standing,  giving  orders  to  his  men  not  to  fire 
but  to  save  their  powder,  for  the  enemy  were  re- 
treating. 

Meantime  the  war  boats  of  the  Atua  people  were 
trying  to  go  around  the  point  on  which  the  fort 
was  standing  in  order  to  get  in  the  rear,  kill  the 
women  and  children,  and  surround  the  fort. 

While  I  was  with  my  father  some  of  the  women 
came  rushing  in  crying  and  screaming  with  the 
news;  as  soon  as  my  father  heard  of  the  enemy's 
movement,  he  ordered  one-half  of  the  army  to  go 
and  ascertain  if  the  news  was  true,  and  if  true,  to 
defeat  the  enemies'  plans;  then  he  told  me  to  go 
and  see  how  my  mother  was,  so  I  followed  after 
the  soldiers  with  the  other  girls  and  women  who 
had  come  to  the  fort.  (Our  army  had  some  can- 
non and  my  oldest  brother  had  just  returned  from 
Australia  and  understood  how  to  use  them.  In 
battle  the  Tulafale  always  protects  the  person  of 
his  chief.) 

When  the  detachment  arrived  they  found  the 
enemy's  boats  just  off  shore  and  preparing  to  land. 
They  immediately  began  to  cut  down  trees  to  build 
fortifications  upon  the  beach,  and  the  women  as- 
sisted them  in  getting  sand  in  their  baskets  to 
cover  the  logs  after  they  were  laid. 

I  went  in  to  my  mother  and  found  her  crying, 
she  asked  me  where  father  was  and  why  I  had  left 


Rescued.  21 

him.  I  said  my  father  had  sent  me  to  her,  then 
she  began  rolling  up  the  cocoanut  shells,  mosquito 
bars,  etc.,  crying  all  the  time  that  we  would  all  be 
killed.  I  was  the  oldest  child  that  my  mother 
had  with  her  at  the  time.  After  she  had  our  be- 
longings all  tied  up,  she  told  me  to  get  my  bag  and 
run  to  my  father  right  away.  All  the  other  wo- 
men were  packing  up  too,  and  my  mother  put  me 
in  charge  of  a  larger  girl  and  we  ran  till  we  came 
to  a  large  Aoa  tree;  under  this  tree  we  sat  down, 
but  I  saw  some  women  going  on  the  road  to  Apia, 
and  instead  of  staying  with  the  others  under  the 
tree  I  ran  after  these  women,  but  lost  sight  of  them 
and  kept  running  until  I  came  to  the  fort.  Here  I 
saw  Atua  men  coming  from  all  directions  (the  Atua 
men  wore  red  caps  and  the  Taumasaga,  white),  and 
I  crept  down  under  the  bush ;  one  of  the  men  step- 
ped on  me  as  I  lay  hid,  jumped  and  exclaimed, 
"What's  that?"  but  concluded  it  was  nothing  and 
passed  on. 

When  I  next  looked  up  the  fort  was  on  fire.  My 
people  had  deserted  the  fort  and  fallen  back  into 
another  fortification.  I  crawled  along  until  I  came 
to  the  river  which  was  much  swollen  by  the  recent 
floods,  and  jumped  in,  but  the  current  was  so  strong 
that  it  swept  me  down  and  I  was  rescued  by  a  Sa- 
moan  missionary  at  Apia,  on  the  opposite  bide  of 
the  river.  On  reaching  shore  I  found  myself  sur- 
rounded by  Atua  women,  and  they  were  all  asking 
"What's  your  name,  who  are  you?"  I  was  fright- 


22  In  Danger  Again. 

ened  and  screaming,  I  told  them  I  was  Laulii  and 
my  father  was  Tuiletuf uga ;  as  soon  as  they  heard 
who  my  father  was  they  all  cried:  "Oh,  twist  her 
neck  and  throw  her  back  into  the  river." 

The  Samoan  missionaries  with  their  wives  and 
children  and  the  white  missionaries  were  all  there, 
and  the  Samoan  missionary  who  had  saved  me 
said:  "No,  no,  don't  you  do  it;  come  here  and  tell 
me  where  you  came  from." 

I  told  him  I  came  from  Fu'aipolu ;  at  this  there 
there  was  another  cry  of  "Twist  her  neck,"  but  the 
missionary  asked  me  if  I  had  any  relations  in  Apia, 
I  told  him  I  had  not. 

"No  one  at  all  at  Apia?" 

Then  I  told  of  my  brother's  wife,  who  was  a  half- 
caste  and  lived  in  Apia;  he  asked  me  the  way  to 
the  house  and  I  walked  with  the  missionary  through 
the  crowd,  trembling  and  with  my  heart  in  my 
mouth  as  every  one  we  passed  shouted  "Kill  her," 
or  "Twist  her  neck." 

I  staid  at  my  sister-in-law's  house  two  days.  In 
the  meantime  my  people  on  the  other  side  were 
looking  all  over  for  me ;  the  girls  in  whose  charge 
I  had  been  placed  could  not  account  for  me,  they 
had  missed  me  when  the  excitement  was  over  but 
they  could  not  tell  when  or  how  I  disappeared. 
My  oldest  brother  was  in  among  the  fighting  men 
and  when  he  heard  I  was  lost  he  came  to  my 
mother  and  asked  where  I  was;  and  my  mother 
explained  how  she  had  sent  me  up  with  the  girls, 


My  Brother's  Anger.  23 

and  how  they  had  lost  me,  and  that  I  was  lost  in 
the  bush.  My  brother  was  angry  and  told  my 
mother  if  she  did  not  find  me  he  would  kill  her; 
my  mother  said,  "All  right,  I  will  find  her."  My 
brother  went  and  got  a  gun  and  everybody  he  met 
asked  him  where  he  was  going  with  the  gun;  he 
replied,  "That's  all  right,"  and  went  up  and  asked 
mother  if  she  had  found  me.  She  said  she  was 
looking  for  me;  he  said  "Come  out  here,  I  want  to 
see  you." 

Some  of  the  women  had  rushed  to  the  chief  and 
told  him  that  my  brother  was  going  to  kill  my 
mother ;  he  came  down  and  asked  my  brother  what 
he  was  doing  with  the  gun.  About  this  time  my 
cousin  had  heard  of  what  was  going  on  and  rushed 
down,  and  in  the  struggle  trying  to  get  the  gun 
away  from  my  brother  he  was  killed  by  the  acci- 
dental discharge  of  the  gun. 

Some  of  the  women  of  the  camp  had  stolen 
through  the  bush  to  get  food  at  Apia  and  while 
there  heard  where  I  was,  on  returning  they  told 
the  news  to  my  people ;  my  brother  would  not  be- 
lieve it  and  said  if  my  body  was  not  found  he 
would  kill  mother. 

All  this  time  my  father  was  with  his  men  and 
knew  nothing  of  what  was  happening,  but  now  he 
came  down  and  asked  if  it  were  true  that  Laulii 
was  lost,  he  had  just  heard  of  it.  When  he  heard 
all  that  occurred  he  prepared  to  send  some  one  over 
to  find  me  if  I  were  at  Apia,  and  talked  to  my 


24  A  Trip  to  Laulii. 

brother  about  his  wickedness  in  wishing  to  kill  my 
mother. 

They  finally  sent  my  other  brother's  wife  over 
after  me.  When  I  saw  them  coming  I  was  almost 
wild  with  joy;  they  said,  "What  a  girl,  what  a  girl, 
what  did  you  come  here  for?" 

I  told  them  that  I  had  thought  that  the  girls 
were  only  standing  under  the  tree  to  rest  and  I 
went  on.  The  woman  who  had  come  after  me 
said,  "Get  ready,  and  come  over  right  away." 

My  other  sister-in-law  wanted  me  to  stay  with 
her  all  the  time;  but  the  other  would  not  allow  it, 
she  said  that  one  man  had  been  killed  and  my 
brother  came  near  killing  mother,  all  on  my  ac- 
count, and  that  I  must  hurry  and  come  for  we 
would  have  to  crawl  through  the  bush  to  avoid 
the  enemy.  When  my  brother  saw  me  he  was 
satisfied. 

The  war  went  on  and  a  white  man  who  had  been 
selling  food  to  both  parties,  one  day  offered  to 
take  the  women  up  to  Laulii  (the  town)  to  gather 
cocoanuts  and  bread  fruit.  My  mother  asked  him 
if  she  might  take  me  along  as  I  would  be  a  great 
help;  he  said,  "All  right;"  so  I  got  into  the  boat 
with  the  party  of  women  who  numbered  about 
twenty — all  the  boat  would  hold — and  the  women 
rowed  while  the  white  man  steered  along  the  coast 
to  Laulii,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a-half  from 
Apia,  east  of  Apia.  When  we  arrived  at  Laulii  the 
white  men  told  us  to  hurry  up  as  .the  Atua  men 


A   Terrible  /Scene.  25 

might  come  down  and  he  would  get  into  trouble 
for  bringing  us,  and  that  when  he  waved  a  white 
flag  we  must  all  run  to  the  boats.  I  was  up  with 
my  mother  at  one  end  of  the  hill,  when  my  mother 
saw  the  white  man  getting  ready  to  raise  the  flag, 
and  she  told  me  to  come  quick,  and  we  ran  down 
to  the  beach.  (The  women  had  brought  all  the 
baskets  they  could  possibly  carry  and  tied  them 
round  their  shoulders  with  cords.) 

When  we  reached  the  beach  it  was  literally  red 
with  the  caps  of  the  enemy ;  I  shall  never  forget 
the  sight  as  long  as  I.  live. 

My  mother  said:  "Oh,  what  will  we  do!  now 
Laulii,  if  anything  happens  at  all  to  me,  try  to 
reach  the  boat  and  stick  to  the  white  man,  but 
while  we  are  here,  you  hold  on  to  my  hand — no 
matter  what  the  people  do  to  me?  you  hold  me  all 
the  time." 

I  said,  "All  right." 

When  we  approached,  the  head  Tulafale  of  the 
Atuas  recognized  us  and  ordered  his  men  to  bring 
my  mother  before  him.  Oh,  it  was  terrible !  I  was 
screaming  all  the  time.  Tuleimotu,  the  Tulafale 
said:  "Take  that  woman,  bring  her  here  and  do 
what  you  like  with  her." 

They  took  her,  threw  her  down  among  her  bas- 
kets, and  beat  and  kicked  her;  she  stood  up  and 
told  Tuliemotu,  he  ought  to  let  the  women  go  back, 
that  it  was  a  shame  for  so  many  men  to  ill-treat  a 
few  defenseless  women. 

3 


26  A  Brave  Woman. 

Tuleimotu  replied  by  calling  her  names  and  say- 
ing he  would  treat  her  husband  worse  if  he  had 
him.  He  then  gave  orders  to  his  men  to  take  all 
the  food  away  from  the  women  (who  had  by 
this  time  reached  the  beach),  and  he  gave  every 
license  to  his  men  to  insult  and  mistreat  these 
defenceless  women,  which  they  did. 

They  ran  and  cut  the  strings  which  tied  our 
baskets  and  took  them  away  from  us.  The 
white  man  had  been  keeping  the  boat  near  shore 
and  now  asked  the  women  to  get  into  it.  My 
mother  was  treated  worse  on  account  of  her  stand- 
ing; as  she  was  walking  to  the  boat  she  said  that 
it  was  a  shame  that  we  could  not  come  to  our  own 
home  for  a  little  food  without  being  ill-treated, 
and  that  they  would  be  revenged.  This  angered 
Tuleimotu,  who  ordered  his  men  to  bring  her  back. 
I  was  hanging  to  my  mother's  skirts  and  now  they 
tried  to  tear  me  away. 

Mother  said:  ''Stop,  don't  you  touch  my  child,'' 
and  slapped  them  in  the  face  and  fought  them. 

Tuleimotu  said.  "Did  you  ever  see  such  a  wo- 
man? You  could  kill  her  and  she  would  still  talk/' 

Some  of  the  soldiers  caught  my  mother  and  held 
her  tight;  then  she  said,  "Tuleimotu,  tell  your 
men  to  take  their  hands  oft*  me." 

The  chief  of  the  Atua  party  was  a  relative  of 
my  mother,  but  although  he  was  standing  by  he 
could  say  nothing  while  his  Tulafale  was  there. 

Mother   now  appealed  to  him,  calling  him  by 


Escaped.  2  7 

name;  she  said,  "You  look  at  me,  why  don't  you 
tell  your  men  to  let  me  free?" 

At  this  the  chief  stepped  forward  and  asked  the 
Tulafale  to  let  them  go,  and  Tuleimotu  told  him 
to  shut  up  or  he  would  be  treated  the  same  way. 

The  men  now  began  beating  her  and  calling  her 
vile  names,  until  the  white  man  told  those  wo- 
men who  had  reached  the  boat  to  hold  it,  and  he 
got  out  and  pleaded  with  the  Tulafale  to  let  her  go, 
that  he  had  brought  us  up  there  and  if  anything 
happened  to  us  he  would  be  blamed  by  our  people 
and  get  into  trouble.  (This  white  man  was  after- 
wards accused  by  our  people  of  bringing  us  into 
this  trouble  on  purpose,  and  although  he  asserted 
his  innocence  he  was  nearly  killed.)  At  the  re- 
quest of  the  white  man,  Tuleimotu  let  us  go,  and 
we  pulled  oft'  while  the  Atua  men  surrounded  our 
boat,  saying  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  white  man 
they  would  kill  us  all.  They  fired  at  us  as  w& 
went  off  but  we  arrived  safely  at  Matautu,  where, 
our  story  created  a  great  deal  of  excitement  and 
threats  of  revenge  were  heard  among  the  soldiers^ 

The  war  lasted  about  seven  months.  We  stayed 
at  Matautu  about  five  months,  but  having  lost  quite 
a  number  of  our  men,  and  being  surrounded  by 
the  enemy,  the  Tulafales  decided  to  steal  out  in 
the  night  and  escape  to  the  other  side  of  the  island 
which  was  now  deserted  by  the  soldiers  of  the  en- 
emy, as  they  had  all  come  to  the  battle  ground 
on  this  side.  So  in  the  night  we  stole  across  the 


28  Losing  Our  Land. 

mountains  to  a  town  on  the  Atua  side  called  Alei- 
pata.  It  took  two  nights  to  get  over  the  moun- 
tains, and  here  we  found  only  women,  who  received 
us  very  kindly,  although  they  were  of  the  enemy's 
party. 

We  were  gone  three  days  before  the  Atuas  found 
out  that  our  fortifications  were  deserted ;  then  they 
looked  for  our  path,  which  was  easily  found,  for 
there  was  a  large  number  of  us  and  we  had  to  beat 
our  path  through  the  bush.  When  they  arrived 
at  Aleipata,  the  armies  had  a  conference,  and  the 
Maleitoa  people  proposed  having  Maleitoa  for  king 
this  time,  and  Tamasese  might  take  the  throne 
next,  but  as  the  Atuas  would  not  agree  to  this, 
war  was  again  renewed. 

We  remained  in  Aleipata  about  three  weeks, 
when  we  again  stole  out,  this  time  to  Siumu;  here 
a  great  battle  took  place  and  the  Atuas  were  de- 
feated, for  though  they  greatly  outnumbered  the 
Taumasaga,  they  were  not  so  well  supplied  with 
guns  and  ammunition.  This  ended  the  great  strug- 
gle and  the  present  Maleitoa  was  made  king. 

THE    MURDER   OF   ST.  FOY. 

While  the  Atua  people  occupied  Apia,  they 
sold  a  part  of  my  father's  land  to  a  Frenchman 
named  St.  Foy.  After  the  war  we  returned  and 
found  our  land  inclosed  by  a  fence.  My  family 
did  not  know  what  to  think  of  it ;  but  thought  that 
perhaps,  the  white  people  knowing  that  they  were 
gone,  had  built  the  fence  to  protect  our  lands  from 


A  Fraudulent  Claim.  29 

the  enemy;  so  we  went  to  the  Frenchman  and 
asked  him  what  the  fence  was  for;  he  said  that 
the  fence  inclosed  his  land;  my  family  said:  "But 
the  land  don't  belong  to  you." 

He  replied;  "Oh,  yes;  I  bought  it." 

"Whom  did  you  buy  it  from?" 

"I  bought  it  from  an  Atua  man." 

Then  my  family  told  him  that  the  land  did  not 
belong  to  the  Atua  people.  St.  Foy  said,  "Oh, 
yes,  it  did,"  that  the  Atua  people  were  living  on 
it  and  it  belonged  to  them.  Then  my  people 
asked  him  how  much  he  gave  for  it.  He  said  he 
had  paid  for  the  land  in  guns,  powder,  cloth,  etc. 
My  family  then  asked  him  to  show  them  the  pa- 
pers and  he  did  so;  but  my  family  said:  "JN"or 
the  land  does  not  belong  to  you,  we  are  sorry  you 
gave  your  goods  for  nothing,  but  we  are  going  to 
break  down  this  fence  and  take  our  lands;  he  re- 
plied that  if  they  did  they  would  be  sorry  for  it. 

So  my  people  went  up  to  the  London  mission- 
aries, and  asked  them  if  the  Frenchman  had  any 
right  to  the  land ;  they  said  no ;  that  it  was  steal- 
ing. So  we  asked  the  missionaries  to  help  us  get 
back  our  lands. 

The  missionaries  wrote  to  the  French  priest  and 
to  St.  Foy,  asking  to  have  an  investigation  of  the 
matter;  so  they  agreed  to  take  the  matter  before 
the  English  consul.  When  the  day  came,  my  fam- 
ily and  the  missionaries  went  to  the  consul;  but 
St.  Foy  and  the  priest  did  not  come,  but  instead 


30  The  St.  Foy.  Murder. 

sent  word  that  St.  Foy  was  not  ready  and  asked 
to  have  the  meeting  postponed  for  three  or  four 
months,  and  in  the  meantime  my  family  could  live 
on  the  land,  but  must  not  touch  any  of  the  fruit, 
or  cocoanuts. 

So  my  family  went  and  took  down  the  fence 
and  built  their  houses;  but  they  also  used  the  co- 
coanuts, etc.,  whenever  they  wanted  them.  This 
made  the  Frenchman  angry,  arid  he  went  to  some 
friends,  and  they  all  went  to  the  French  man-of- 
war  and  told  their  side  of  the  story.  Without 
notifying  us,  the  man-of-war  sent  four  boats  full  of 
soldiers  to  tear  down  our  houses.  When  we  saw  the 
boats  coming,  we  thought  they  were  going  to  have 
some  amusement,  and  we  all  crowded  down  to  the 
shore  to  see  what  was  going  on;  the  soldiers  landed 
and  passed  on  up  to  our  land .  There  a  surveyor 
measured  off  the  lands  under  the  direction  of  St. 
Foy,  while  the  soldiers  stood  guard  and  threat- 
ened to  shoot  any  Samoan  who  interfered.  Then 
orders  were  given  and  the  soldiers  advanced  and 
tore  down  our  houses  and  threw  them  into  the 
water,  and  told  us  never  to  set  foot  upon  that  land 
again.  This  is  how  we  lost  that  land. 

The  Frenchman  lived  upon  this  land  from  the 
time  of  the  war  until,  his  death,  in  October,  1885. 
He  was  a  miser  and  kept  large  sums  of  money  in 
his  house.  One  Monday  morning,  in  that  month, 
the  baker  left  the  bread  as  usual  on  the  steps  of  St. 
Foy's  house;  but  noticed  on  his  return  from  his 


The  False  Blacksmith.  3J 

rounds  that  the  bread  was  still  there.  He  passed 
on  and  soon  after  two  nuns  came  by,  and  seeing 
the  bread  on  the  steps  remarked  it  as  something 
unusual,  but  went  on  their  way.  On  their  return, 
however,  the  bread  was  still  there,  so  they  called 
in  at  the  next  house,  to  find  if  anything  was.  the 
matter.  They  found  the  people  there,  and  they, 
too,  were  surprised  at  the  unusual  quietness  around 
the  house,  for  St.  Foy  and  his  Samoan  wife  were 
early  risers,  and  it  was  then  about  ten  o'clock. 

Finally  the  lady  said  she  would  go  in  and  see  if 
they  were  sick ;  so  she  entered  and  knocked  at  the 
door.  On  looking  around  she  noticed  blood  drip- 
ping from  the  floor  above.  Thoroughly  alarmed, 
she  told  what  she  had  seen,  and  the  news  soon 
spread. 

The  American  Consul,  Greenebaum,  was  sent  for, 
and  the  policemen  came  hurrying  to  the  spot; 
they  knocked  at -the  door  and  called,  but  nobody 
came  or  answered.  The  people  thought  that  St. 
Foy  must  have  gone  crazy  and  killed  his  wife. 

A  blacksmith,  to  whom  St.  Foy  had  rented  a 
piece  of  his  land  in  the  rear,  was  working  in  his 
shop,  and,  when  he  saw  the  people  collected,  came 
up  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  They  told 
him  and  he  appeared  sorrow-stricken  at  the 
thought  of  the  death  of  his  friend  St.  Foy.  The 
policemen  tried  the  front  door,  but  could  not  get 
in;  so  the  blacksmith  led  them  to  a  back  door 
which  he  knew  was  always  open ;  arrived  there, 


32  Searching  for  Evidence. 

he  let  the  Consul  and  policemen  go  in  ahead.  On 
reaching  the  head  of  the  stairs,  they  found  the 
dead  bodies  of  St.  Foy  and  his  wife  terribly  mu- 
tilated, and  the  room  showed  evidence  of  a  strug- 
gle. The  safe  was  broken  open  and  money  scat- 
tered around. 

When  the  people  heard  the  news  the  blacksmith 
was  among  the  first  to  enter;  he  cried  and  kissed 
the  cold  face  of  St.  Foy;  but  his  actions  excited 
the  suspicions  of  a  half-caste  policeman,  George 
Scanlan,  and  he  ran  out  and,  going  to  the  black- 
smith's house,  asked  the  blacksmith's  wife  where 
her  husband  had  been  the  night  before. 

She  said  that  he  had  been  to  a  dance  at  the 
Matafele  saloon. 

"What  time  did  he  come  home?" 

She  replied  that  it  was  near  morning — about 
four  o'clock.  (She  was  a  native  woman.) 

"About  four  o'clock?" 

"Yes;  I  heard  him  come  in,  and  he  asked  me 
for  dry  clothes;  I  did  not  get  up,  but  told  him 
where  to  find  the  clothes,  and  asked  him  how  he 
got  his  clothes  wet.  He  said  that  he  had  been 
having  a  good  time  at  the  saloon.  I  went  to  sleep 
again  and  thought  no  more  about  it." 

The  policeman  went  into  the  house  and  asked  her 
to  show  him  the  clothes  that  her  husband  had  taken 
off;  she  did  not  know  where  they  were  as  she  had 
not  got  out  of  bed ;  he  then  looked  around  the  room 
and  behind  a  tool-box  in  the  corner  he  found  a 


The  Murderer  Discovered.  33 

wet  shirt  stained  with  blood.  Evidently  the  man  had 
tried  to  wash  the  blood  out  but  could  not  remove 
all  the  stains;  the  policeman  searched  around  the 
building  and  at  the  forge,  finding  some  American 
gold  in  the  ashes,  which  was  convincing  evidence, 
and  the  blacksmith  was  arrested  and  imprisoned. 
He  declared  his  innocence,  but  the  day  was  set  for 
trial. 

Before  it  came  on  the  blacksmith  was  taken  by 
the  half-caste  and  another  policeman  back  to  his 
house  to  get  clean  clothes.  They  watched  all  his 
actions  closely  and  noticed  that  after  they  entered 
the  house  he  kept  glancing  out  of  a  window  at  the 
back  of  the  house;  so  after  he  was  taken  back  to 
jail  they  returned  and  dug  up  the  ground  under 
that  window,  and  found  a  lot  of  money.  The  black- 
smith, during  his  trial,  committed  suicide  in  prison 
by  hanging  himself  with  the  strings  of  his  ham- 
mock; before  his  death,  however,  he  confessed  the 
crime  to  a  friend  and  told  where  the  remainder  of 
the  money  was  hidden. 

ABOUT    CHILDREN. 

Soon  after  a  baby  is  born  the  mother  presses  its 
head  by  putting  one  hand  at  the  back  of  its  head 
and  the  other  on  its  forehead,  as  they  do  not  like 
projecting  foreheads;  then  the  mother  pinches  its 
nose  between  its  eyes  and  flattens  the  end  of  its 
nose  by  pressing.  When  the  baby  sleeps  it  must 
always  lie  on  its  back,  as  they  think  it  will  tend  to 
heighten  the  forehead  to  lie  on  the  side  of  the  head. 


34  About  Babies. 

They  keep  pressirig  the  forehead  and  nose  until 
the  child  is  about  three  years  old.  The  Samoan 
mothers  do  not  believe  in  walking  with  the  child 
to  quiet  it,  but  when  it  cries  keep  them  in  their 
laps  and  sing  to  them,  and  feed  them  when  they 
are  hungry.  When  the  baby  is  three  days  old  it 
is  not  washed  in  the  house  any  more  but  taken  to 
the  river  and  washed ;  when  they  are  three  or  four 
years  old  they  can  swim  very  well. 

About  a  week  after  its  birth,  the  child's  head 
is  shaved  so  as  to  make  the  hair  grow  in  a  perfect 
semi-circle  rather  low  on  the  forehead ;  they  shave 
the  head  until  the  child  is  about  three  years  old. 
They  keep  the  child  wrapped  up  in  a  cloth  extend- 
ing down  to  the  knees  and  up  to  the  waist,  for 
about  a  week;  then  it  goes  naked,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  lavalava,  which  all  children  wear.  After 
a  few  weeks  it  begins  to  eat  the  softer  food  of  the 
older  people.  When  the  mother  carries  it  she  puts 
it  in  a  cloth  which  she  passes  under  one  of  her 
arms  and  over  her  other  shoulder  like  a  sash ;  but 
as  soon  as  it  creeps  and  knows  how  to  hold  on,  it  is 
carried  by  its  brothers  and  sisters  while  they  play, 
without  the  aid  of  this  cloth.  In  six  or  seven 
weeks  it  learns  how  to  creep,  and  then  its  father 
and  mother  teach  it  to  walk  by  holding  both  ends 
of  a  long  stick  and  letting  baby  hold  the  middle. 
After  it  wnlks  it  is  allowed  to  run  about  with  the 
other  children,  and  its  care  devolves  upon  its  broth- 
ers and  sisters.  The  father  and  mother  sometimes 


.  Samoan  Trees.  35 

go  off  to  the  bush  after  food  and  stay  two  or  three 
hours,  leaving  the  family  and  house  in  charge  of  the 
oldest  girl,  even  if  their  be  a  child  only  two  or  three 
days  old  to  care  for.  The  child  soon  learns  to  talk 
after  it  walks. 

TREES,  ETC. 

The  Mosooi  tree  has  long  slender  leaves,  which 
are  used  to  make  the  native  dancing  dresses;  first, 
we  take  leaves  the  length  of  the  dress  to  be  made. 
On  top  of  this  we  fasten  a  shorter  layer,  and  con- 
tinue this  until  there  is  a  very  short  layer  on  top; 
these  we  sew  at  the  top,  leaving  the  ends  of  the 
strings  on  each  side  to  plait,  and  with  these  braids 
fasten  our  dresses  around  the  waist. 

The  blossom  of  this  tree  resembles  the  Chrysan- 
themum, but  is  larger,  and  makes  the  best  cocoa- 
nut  oil  for  long  hair.  We  also  use  the  leaves  of 
the  flower  for  ornaments,  pulling  the  flower  apart 
and  stringing  the  leaves  like  beads;  we  wear  these 
around  our  necks  and  in  our  hair.  The  wood 
makes  the  best  canoes,  because  it  is  very  light ;  we 
hollow  out  the  trunk  of  the  trees  in  the  form  of 
canoes;  these  canoes  will  hold,  the  smaller  ones 
two,  and  the  larger  ones  twenty-four  persons. 

The  branches  grow  up  near  the  top  of  the  tree, 
and  the  seed  is  eaten  by  the  pigeons.  The  blos- 
som is  light  yellow. 

The  Ifi  tree  is  larger  than  the  Mosooi.  The 
branches  grow  near  the  top  and  fall  over  and  take 
root  where  they  touch  the  ground,  leaving  a  space 


36  Catching  Pigeons. 

inside  like  a  house,  around  the  butt  of  the  tree, 
and  inside  here  the  natives  sometimes  have  their 
picnics,  etc.,  and  are  entirely  protected  from  the  rain 
and  weather.  The  fruit  is  shaped  like  the  almond 
nut,  and  is  about  the  size  of  the  potato ;  it  cannot  be 
eaten  raw,  and  when  cooked  we  eat  it  as  we  do 
nuts  between  meals ;  the  shell  of  the  fruit  we  burn ; 
it  makes  a  slow  fire. 

The  leaves  are  like  the  Magnolia,  and  the  wood 
makes  the  best  fuel,  and  is  sometimes  used  for 
timber. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  Bread-fruit  tree. 
The  blossoms  are  shaped  like  the  lily  and  are  of 
all  colors;  the  fruit  is  the  principal  food  of  the 
Samoans. 

Before  the  white  people  came,  instead  of  ironing 
our  clothes  we  folded  them  up  in  a  piece  of  cloth 
and  beat  them  with  sticks. 

The  hog  is  the  only  wild  animal;  there  are 
horses,  chickens,  pigs,  pigeons,  etc. ;  wild  chickens, 
rats  and  mice.  There  is  a  bird  of  different  colors, 
called  the  Manutagi,  a  little  larger  than  the  quail, 
and  used  for  food. 

Before  the  white  people  came  we  caught  our 
pigeons  with  nets  made  of  straw  from  the  vine 
called  Mati ;  this  trap  we  set  on  the  branches  of  the 
tree  with  seed  inside  and  sometimes  another  pigeon 
which  has  been  caught  before.  The  Samoan  hides 
near  by  on  the  branches  and  when  the  pigeon  goes 
in  to  eat  he  claps  on  a  circular  piece  of  netting 


How  Lands  Have  Gone.  37 

made  to  cover  the  hole  in  the  trap,  and  attached  to 
the  end  of  a  long  stick.  The  natives  are  very  skill- 
ful in  throwing  stones  and  also  killed  pigeons  that 
way. 

In  war  the  fighting  men  use  clubs,  spears  made 
of  hard  wood,  stones  and  their  fists. 

In  Palauli,  on  the  island  of  Savaii,  they  have  the 
only  snakes  in  all  Samoa  and  they  are  cared  for 
and  raised  as  curiosities.  These  snakes  are  small 
and  striped  like  the  water-snakes  here,  and  can 
swim. 

HOW    OUR    LANDS    HAVE    BEEN    PARTED    WITH. 

The  question  may  naturally  arise  in  the  minds 
of  the  readers,  What  has  been  the  cause  of  the  na- 
tives parting  with  their  lands?  For  purposes  of 
gain,  white  men  in  business  in  Samoa  have  en- 
couraged and  fostered  the  disputes  between  the 
tribes,  and  then  liberally  supplied  them  with  arms 
and  ammunition,  charging  exorbitant  prices,  and 
taking  in  payment  the  most  fertile  lands  in  the 
country.  One  single  firm  owns  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  acres  of  the  best  soil,  acquired  in  this 
manner,  which  cost  them  the  merest  trifle,  and 
upon  which  they  have  since  established  cotton  and 
other  plantations,  and  have  thousands  of  laborers 
at  work.  Even  in  the  recent  struggle,  as  pub- 
lished in  the  American  newspapers,  guns  have 
been  sold  for  seventy-five  dollars  each  that  were 
not  worth  one-tenth  of  it,  and  cartridges  at  a 
thousand  per  cent,  advance  upon  their  valuation. 


38  Love  Letters. 

To  make  war  or  to  defend  their  homes  the  natives 
would  pay  any  price  for  guns  and  ammunition; 
and,  not  having  the  coin,  they  gave  lands  instead; 
in  many  instances,  also,  during  what  may  be  termed 
the  temporary  occupancy  of  the  country  by  the 
hostile  forces,  the  possessors  for  the  time  being 
would  sell  the  land  for  almost  nothing — land 
which  did  not  belong  to  them,  and  which  they  were 
only  occupying  for  the  briefest  space  of  time  with 
a  full  knowledge  that  they  would  soon  be  driven 
out  by  the  rightful  owners  of  the  soil;  and  yet 
these  lands  would  be  purchased  under  such  cir- 
cumstances by  parties  who,  asserting  that  the  title 
and  claim  were  good,  have  put  the  natives  to  much 
inconvenience,  and,  in  many  instances,  actually 
swindled  them  out  of  their  property. 

My  own  family  has  suffered  much  in  this  man- 
ner, and  will,  doubtless,  have  to  pay  more  or  less 
for  lands  for  which  they  never  received  a  single 
penny ;  and  it  is  to  give  them  assistance,  and  help 
them  reclaim  at  least  a  part  of  what  they  are  hon- 
estly entitled  to,  that  I  offer  for  sale  this  book, 
trusting  it  will  meet  a  liberal  reception  at  the 
hands  of  a  liberal  people. 

LOVE    LETTERS. 

If  postage  had  to  be  paid  on  the  innumerable  let- 
ters that  are  written  by  the  young  people  to  each 
other,  it  would  be  a  great  source  of  revenue  to  the 
post-office  department,  if  they  had  one ;  as  the  boys 
and  girls  in  school  are  kept  separate,  only  meeting 


Religious  Matters.  39 

at  meal  times,  and  general  meetings  being  few  and 
far  between,  letter  writing  is  carried  on  to  an  enor- 
mous extent.  One,  two,  and  often  more,  letters  a 
day  are  written  to  each  other  and  sent  or  delivered 
by  hand  as  opportunity  offers ;  this  will  account  for 
the  expression  that  I  use  when  referring  to  receiv- 
ing letters  from  the  young  man  who  was  at  Dr.  Tur- 
ner's mission  school  at  the  same  time  as  myself  and 
whom  I  married. 

OUR   RELIGION. 

The  Samoans  are  a  religious  people;  while  they 
make  no  pretentions  their  every  act  is  characterized 
by  a  fervent  belief  in,  and  dependence  upon  a  heav- 
enly father ;  here  again  they  differ  somewhat  from 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  more  civilized 
countries.  After  rising  in  the  morning  their  first 
act  is  prayer,  which  is  always  accompanied  with 
the  singing  of  the  hymn;  no  meal,  or  even  the 
slightest  refreshment  at  any  time,  is  partaken  of 
until  preceded  by  a  prayer  or  blessing.  Upon  all 
of  their  labors,  enterprises  or  undertakings,  a  bless- 
ing is  invoked,  and  a  true  Samoan  would  feel  guilty 
of  a  flagrant  violation  of  divine  law  should  he  be- 
gin his  day  or  end  it  without  thanks  to  the  God 
who  created  him.  Another  peculiarity  of  the  Sa- 
moan religion  is  that  it  lasts  seven  days  in  the  week 
and  is  not  concentrated  in  one  day,  or  part  of  one 
day,  to  be  conveniently  laid  aside  the  other  six ;  it 
lasts  all  of  the  time. 

The  Bible  and  Scriptural  hymns  are  their  only 


40  The  Curse  of  Liquor. 

text  books,  these  must  be  faithfully  learned  and 
practiced  in  daily  life  ere  it  will  be  conceded  that 
the  student  is  deserving  of  further  education.  This 
may  be  deemed  crude,  uncivilized  and  contracted; 
perhaps  so.  And  yet  it  is  an  open  question  whether 
the  world  at  large  would  not  be  better  if  the  same 
laws  governed  education  in  more  enlightened  na- 
tions. 

A  BLIGHTING  INFLUENCE. 

Lying  under  the  equator  in  the  burning  fire  of  a 
tropical  sun,  none  but  the  natives  can  endure 
without  suffering,  the  scorching  noonday's  heat. 
These  people  are  created  for  this  locality,  and 
physically  adapted  for  its  occupancy.  While  no 
complaint  can  ba  made  of  the  missionaries  of  vari- 
ous religions  who  have  honestly,  zealously,  and  in 
a  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  emigrated  there  to  teach 
and  labor,  yet  following  in  the  footsteps  of  these 
missionaries,  was  a  white  element  from  many 
nations,  whose  advent  has  been  marked  with 
demoralization  and  detriment  to  the  natives.  The 
mighty  power  which  has  been  so  potent  for  evil  in 
Samoa  is  the  same  demon  that  furrows  all  lands 
with  drunkard's  graves  and  fills  jails  with  crimi- 
nals, that  causes  broken  hearts  and  disgraced 
homes,  viz:  the  demon  RUM! 

These  white  men  from  countries  boasting  of  their 
culture,  refinement  and  integrity,  brought  to 
Samoa  thousands  of  gallons  of  liquor;  taught  the 
natives  how  to  drink ;  initiated  them  into  the  fiery 


ROAD  THROUGH  A  COCOANUT  GROVE. 


An  Erroneous  Opinion.  41 

seductive  fascinations  of  the  cup;  catered  to  the 
appetite  thus  created;  received  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  dollars  for  their  baleful  commodities ; 
and  step  by  step,  steadily  and  surely,  degraded  and 
demoralized  all  whom  they  could  influence. 

Such  white  men  and  such  civilization  has  been 
a  curse,  instead  of  a  blessing,  to  Samoa. 

AN    ERRONEOUS    OPINION. 

A  most  erroneous  opinion  prevails  that  there  is  a 
total  absence  of  virtue,  chastity,  and  purity  among 
these  people ;  but  the  very  fact  that  they  are  taught 
from  a  religious  stand -point,  and  that  their  whole 
education  is  founded  upon  bible  truths  and  the 
highest  moral  teachings,  should  of  itself,  give  a 
most  convincing  refutation  to  this  assertion.  But 
the  Samoans  are  a  "long  way  off,"  and  it  is  to  the 
interests  of  the  "rum  traffickers"  who  have  aided 
in  endeavoring  to  demoralize  them,  to  assume  and 
declare  that  they  are  low  in  morals,  ignorant  of 
good,  and  have  nought  of  rectitude  about  them. 

But  such  is  not  the  fact ;  mothers  teach,  counsel 
and  advise  their  children  there  as  elsewhere,  and 
the  loving  desire  of  protection  for  their  offspring  is 
just  as  mighty  in  the  Samoan  mother's  heart  as  in 
those  of  the  mothers  of  any  other  land.  Owing  to 
the  tropical  climate,  girls  reach  maturity  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years,  and  that  they  in  their  turn  may 
make  good  wives  and  .mothers  they  are  cared  for, 
advised  and  properly  counseled. 


42  Funeral  Ceremonies. 

A   KING'S    FUNERAL. 

If  the  Tulafale  is  not  competent  or  does  not  do 
his  duty  honorably,  the  people  remove  him  from 
office  and  put  in  his  nearest  relative,  the  one  who 
would  follow  him  next  in  succession,  and  this  per- 
son takes  the  name  and  all  the  possessions  of  the 
one  expelled.  The  oldest  son  of  every  family  takes 
the  family  name,  and  when  a  King,  Tulafale  or 
Chief  is  deposed,  he  gives  up  this  name  and  it  is 
taken  by  his  successor,  while  he  must  ever  after  be 
known  by  his  first  name  only.  When  a  Tulafale 
or  Chief  dies  his  family  appoint  a  person  to  take 
his  name  and  fill  his  office  until  the  people  have  a 
meeting  and  decide  whether  or  not  his  eldest  son  is 
competent  to  fill  the  position ;  if  not.  it  is  taken  by 
the  second  son  or  whoever  comes  next  in  succession. 
This  meeting  of  the  people  to  decide  upon  the  suc- 
cessor takes  place  after  the  burial.  To  the  first 
meeting  none  of  the  relatives  of  the  dead  man  are 
invited.  After  the  successor  has  been  agreed  upon 
another  meeting  is  called  to  which  all  the  members 
of  the  deceased  are  invited.  The  ceremony  to  be 
gone  through  then,  makes  the  favored  person 
Tulafale  or  Chief,  as  the  case  may  be.  After  the 
people  are  assembled  they  drink  the  kava,  which 
is  passed  first  to  the  substitute,  then  to  the  chief, 
and  then  to  the  elected. 

The  kings  are  elected  by  the  people ;  the  per- 
son whom  the  people  consider  most  fitted  for  the 
position  is  chosen  without  regard  to  relationship. 


Funeral  Ceremonies.  43 

When  the  King  is  lying  very  sick  and  in  danger 
of  death,  no  one  is  allowed  to  pass  in  front  of  the 
house ;  guards  are  stationed,  and  will  punish  any 
one  who  attempts  to  pass,  and  if  he  should  die  no 
one  must  pass  in  front  of  the  house  until  he  is 
buried,  not  even  a  boat  at  sea,  unless  they  are  out 
of  sight  of  land.  When  he  dies  his  death  is  imme- 
diately announced  by  his  Tulafale  to  all  the  Tula- 
fales  of  the  islands,  and  they  call  together  the 
people  of  their  respective  towns,  announce  the 
King's  death,  and  they  choose  a  piece  of  land 
about  the  size  of  an  acre  to  be  set  aside  to  show  their 
respect  to  the  King. 

Having  selected  the  land  the  young  men  of  the 
town  go  with  an  ax  (made  of  sharp  stone  before 
the  whites  came)  and  mark  all  the  cocoanut  trees 
on  the  selected  land  by  chipping  off  a  piece  from 
the  body  of  the  tree.  No  one  must  touch  any 
part  of  these  trees  until  the  King  is  to  be  buried. 

When  the  King  is  to  be  buried  it  is  announced 
to  all  the  people  and  they  go  and  fire  these  cocoa- 
nut  trees.  A  woody  substance  around  the  trees- 
at  the  top  burns  like  tinder.  It  is  lighted  and 
illuminates  the  whole  country.  On  the  death  of 
the  King,  people  from  all  of  the  islands  come  to 
view  his  remains. 

For  a  few  hours  after  his  death  no  one  is  allowed 
to  see  the  King,  except  his  own  family;  but  the 
first  night  all  the  people  must  come  and  show 
themselves  at  his  house  to  show  their  respect  for 


44  Funeral  Ceremonies. 

the  dead,  and  if  any  Chief  or  Tulafale  is  not 
present  strict  enquiry  is  made ;  if  they  had  not  heard 
of  the  King's  death,  they  are  excused,  but  if  they 
knew  of  the  death  and  did  not  attend  they  are  de- 
prived of  lands  and  title. 

Every  night  about  seven  o'clock  the  people 
come  to  the  house,  and  sometimes  at  the  request 
of  the  older  folks,  the  people  have  games  to  divert 
their  minds  from  sadness.  About  ten  o'clock  the 
men  leave  and  the  women  are  left  to  .watch  over 
the  corpse.  A  maid  of  a  town  (daughter  of  a 
chief  of  a  town),  with  her  Tulafale  and  all  the 
women  of  her  town,  watch  and  sing  of  the  good 
qualities  of  the  deceased  in  order  to  cheer  the 
bereaved  family,  until  they  are  tired ;  then  they 
are  replaced  by  another  maid  of  the  town  and  her 
company.  If  one  of  the  girls  fall  asleep  during 
her  watch,  the  others  black  her  face. 

They  keep  the  King's  body  as  long  as  possible, 
generally  about  a  week.  After  their  watch,  when 
morning  comes,  they  gather  up  their  cocoanut 
shells  and  fill  them  at  the  spring,  and  set  them  on 
the  beach  while  they  bathe,  then  pick  up  their 
shells,  bring  them  to  the  house,  scent  their  hair 
and  lk  fix  up,"  (all  this  is  done  very  quietly  and 
softly  during  the  day  time,  no  singing,  etc.) 

When  breakfast  is  ready  they  retire  to  a  second 
house  near  by  where  the  food  (all  the  food  is 
brought  by  the  people  when  they  come  and  given 
to  the  family)  has  been  set  out  by  the  family  of 


Funeral  Ceremonies,  45 

the  dead  man,  upon  banana,  talo  and  other  leaves, 
which  always  forms  the  table  of  the  Samoan,  as 
neither  eating,  drinking  nor  smoking  is  allowed  in 
the  same  room  with  the  dead. 

After  breakfast  the  people  spend  the  day  as  they 
please,  generally  sleeping,  only  having  a  small 
lunch  at  noon  time,  until  night,  when  all  the  men 
assemble,  and  they  have  the  principal  meal  of  the 
day.  The  girls  take  great  pains  to  scent  their  hair 
and  look  their  prettiest  then,  for  they  know  all 
the  young  men  will  be  there. 

Then  the  girls  watch  again,  and  so  on  every 
night  till  the  King  is  buried.  The  night  before 
he  is  to  be  buried  he  is  placed  in  his  coffin  by  the 
Tulafales;  these  coffins  are  canoes  made  exactly  the 
size  of  the  body,  and  have  a  cover  of  wood  which 
is  fastened  on  by  cords  tied  at  each  end.  They 
place  the  coffin  at  one  end  of  the  room,  and  in  the 
morning  all  the  people  come  to  take  a  last  look  at 
the  King.  The  Tulafales  remain  by  the  body  and 
the  other  people  go  and  sit  all  around  the  house, 
while  the  family  come  in  and  have  a  look  at  the 
dead;  then  the  coffin  is  covered  and  wrapped  up 
in  mats  and  carried  to  the  grave,  (which  is  lined 
with  mats),  which,  is  in  a  plot  set  aside  for  the 
royal  family.  Some  of  the  people,  mostly  young 
men,  stay  at  the  house  to  prepare  the  food  for  the 
remainder.  After  the  grave  is  covered  all  the 
women  take  baskets  and  go  to  the  beach  and  fill 
them  with  fine  gravel,  which  they  sprinkle  over 


46  Cocoanuts. 

r 

the  grave.  Then  the  women  all  go  and  bathe, 
after  which  they  eat  the  food  which  has  been  pre- 
pared for  them.  The  men  then  go  and  bathe  while 
the  women  are  preparing  food  for  them,  and  get- 
ting scent  for  their  brothers  and  relatives  to  put 
on  their  hair  and  hands  when  they  come  back 
from  the  bath,  for  it  is  not  the  women  alone  that 
show  their  vanity  at  these  gatherings. 

While  the  women  are  collecting  the  gravel  and 
bathing,  some  of  the  women  of  the  family  take 
down  the  mats  which  decorate  the  room  in  which 
the  dead  lay,  and  all  eat  their  meal  there. 

When  the  people  gather  up  the  dry  leaves  of 
the  cocoanut  tree  the  night  before  the  burial,  and 
set  fires  on  top  of  the  trees,  they  also  gather  up 
the  fruit  to  make  scent  of  the  oil.  This  is  a  pro- 
cess that  requires  care  and  judgment.  The  cocoa- 
nut  has  three  eyes,  one  big  and  two  little  ones. 
If  the  shell  is  struck  with  a  stone  directly  between 
these  two  eyes  it  will  crack  open  in  two  perfect 
halves;  then  the  fruit  is  grated  or  ground. 

COCOANUTS,  PERFUMERY,  ETC. 

To  take  the  husk  off  the  cocoanut,  we  get  a  stick 
about  three  feet  long  and  sharpen  it  on  one  end 
like  the  point  of  a  knife,  the  dull  end  of  this  is 
put  into  the  ground  and  to  tear  the  husk  off  we 
take  the  cocoanut  in  both  hands  and  scrape  it  on 
the  sharp  end  of  this  stick.  To  grate  the  meat  we 
have  an  instrument  made  of  a  piece  of  iron  about 


Perfumery.  47 

two  inches  wide  and  five  inches  long;  this  is  fast- 
ened to  a  stick,  leaving  the  end  of  the  iron  pro- 
truding about  half  an  inch  beyond  the  stick.  This 
end  of  the  iron  is  filed  with  a  sharp  stone  until  the 
end  is  all  teeth  like  a  comb.  We  set  this  on  a 
piece  of  wood  or  anything  that  will  serve  as  a  seat 
and  sit  on  one  end  while  we  grate  the  cocoanut  on 
the  other. 

When  there  is  enough  of  the  cocoanut  grated 
we  get  a  big  banana  leaf,  which  is  about  the  size 
of  a  sheet,  and  put  it  out  in  the  sun,  and  when  it 
is  dry  it  is  hard  and  tough,  when  it  is  fresh  it  is 
easily  broken.  We  take  stones  and  form  a  circle 
in  front  of  the  house  of  the  maid  of  the  town,  and 
over  this  stretch  the  dried  banana  leaf,  so  as  to 
form  a  basin  into  which  we  put  the  grated  cocoa- 
nut,  spreading  it  out  about  an  inch  thick  over  the 
leaf.  Then  we  go  and  gather  flowers  and  bring 
piles  of  all  kinds  to  the  house ;  then  agree  what 
kind  of  scent  we  want  and  put  that  flower,  the 
leaves  and  the  bark  into  the  basin  and  mix  it  all 
up  with  the  cocoanut.  This  is  put  out  in  the  sun 
every  morning  and  brought  in  at  night,  until  all 
the  oil  is  melted  out  with  the  juice  of  the  flowers, 
leaves  and  bark. 

Then  we  take  little  threads  from  the  bark  of  the 
Ua  tree  and  weave  them  into  a  close  net,  which  is 
used  to  clean  the  oil  by  straining.  When  all  the 
particles  of  bark,  flowers  and  leaves  are  removed, 
we  put  the  liquid  into  bowls  and  skim  it  off  with 


48  Making  Bottles, 

large  orange  leaves.  When  it  is  clear  we  put  it 
into  another  basin,  similar  to  the  first,  and  two  of 
the  girls  take  hold  of  the  leaf  and  carry  it  out  into 
the  sun,  taking  care  to  bring  it  in  when  there  is  a 
shower  and  at  night. 

It  takes  two  or  three  days  to  cook  the  oil  thor- 
oughly all  through,  then  it  is  again  strained  and 
now  is  ready  for  bottling.  The  longer  this  fluid  is 
kept  the  better  it  is.  Great  care  must  be  taken 
to  select  the  right  flowers,  as  some  of  them  when 
mixed  with  the  oil  will  cause  all  the  hair  to  fall 
out ;  others  again,  while  they  can  be  used  for  short 
hair  will  cause  long  hair  to  break  off.  The  scent 
receives  the  name  of  the  flower  which  has  been 
used  in  its  preparation.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  taste 
what  flower  shall  be  used,  and  sometimes  two  or 
more  than  two  are  put  in  the  same  preparation. 

The  people  who  come  to  a  king's  funeral  bring 
mats,  etc.  These,  together  with  the  scent,  are  di- 
vided among  the  people  by  the  deceased  king's  Tu- 
lafale  and  near  relations. 

Before  the  white  people  came  we  made  bottles 
of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  we  call  Fagufagu ;  this  fruit 
is  shaped  like  the  cocoanut,  and  putting  a  hole 
through  this  where  the  eye  is,  we  fill  the  shell 
with  salt  water,  then  cork  it  up  with  banana  leaves 
and  set  them  out  on  a  bench  in  the  sun  with  the 
holes  turned  upward.  After  four  days  the  meat 
will  be  all  softened  by  the  salt  water,  and  we  re- 
move the  corks  and  shake  the  meat  out,  rinse  it 


Making  Ava.  49 

out  with  salt  water  until  perfectly  clean,  then  hang 
them  up  for  three  days  with  the  opening  turned 
down  and  in  three  days  they  are  perfectly  dry  and 
ready  for  use ;  these  are  our  bottles. 

GOVERNMENT MAKING  AVA  (KAVA),  ETC. 

Each  town  has  its  Chiefs  and  Tulafales,  who 
make  the  laws  for  the  people.  When  the  laws 
are  made  they  bring  them  to  the  King,  who  looks 
them  over,  but  if  the  Tulafale  is  in  favor  of  them, 
even  the  King  cannot  veto  them. 

Not  only  the  Chief  has  a  Tulafale,  but  each  of 
the  Tulaf ale's  children  is  Tulafale  to  one  of  the 
Chief's  children,  and  the  wife  of  the  Tulafale  is 
Tulafale  to  the  Chief's  wife. 

When  there  is  a  match  to  be  made  for  a  Chiefs 
daughter,  the  Tulafales  of  the  different  towns 
come  with  presents  and  speak  to  her  Tulafale 
about  the  merits  of  their  respective  Chiefs  son. 
The  Tulafale  privately  asks  the  opinion  of  her 
father  and  mother  (Tulafales  also),  and  the 
maid  of  the  town,  as  she  is  called,  sits  at  one 
end  of  the  room  with  her  maids  on  each  side 
and  her  Tulafale  on  the  extreme  left.  The  Tula- 
fale breaks  the  dried  Ava  root  and  passes  the 
pieces  to  the  girls  and  the  Tapou,  (the  Chief's 
daughter),  or  maid  of  the  town,  and  they  chew  it 
until  it  is  formed  into  pulp.  Then  they  take  it  out 
of  their  mouths  and  throw  it  into  the  Tanoa,  or  Ava 
bowl,  which  is  set  on  the  floor  immediately  in 


50  Presenting  Ava. 

front  of  the  Tapou.  When  they  have  all  thrown 
in  their  Ava  the  Tapou  stirs  it  up  while  the  girl 
at  her  right  hand  is  pouring  in  water,  till  it  is 
thoroughly  mixed.  Then  she  takes  a  long  string 
of  bark,  rolls  it  up  into  a  ball,  resembling  a  sponge, 
then  dipping  it  into  the  Ava,  gathers  up  all  the 
pieces  of  root,  squeezes  it  out  and  passes  it  to  the 
girl  on  her  right,  who  in  turn  passes  it  to  a  girl 
who  stands  behind  her.  This  girl  shakes  it  free  of 
the  Ava  root  and  passes  it  back,  and  the  same  process 
is  gone  through  with  until  the  fluid  is  perfectly 
clear,  when  she  says  softly  to  her  Tulafale,  "  The 
Ava  is  clear." 

The  Tulafale  announces  it  to  the  cup-bearer,  a 
girl  who  sits  on  the  extreme  right ;  the  girl  takes 
her  cup.  goes  to  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  the 
Tapou  dips  the  sponge  into  the  Ava ;  then  the  girl 
advances,  bowing  low,  and  holds  the  cup  under  the 
sponge  while  the  Tapou  wrings  it  out;  this  the 
Tapou  does  until  the  cocoanut  cup  is  full ;  then  the 
girl  returns  to  the  middle  of  the  floor,  keeping  her 
face  towards  the  Tapou  and  bowing  low ;  when  she 
reaches  the  middle  of  the  floor  the  Tulafale  sings, 
"  Now  it  is  time  to  drink  your  Ava." 

After  the  cup-bearer  has  presented  all  the  visit- 
ors with  Ava,  she  brings  in  the  food,  of  which  the 
Tulafale  chooses  the  best  for  her  company,  and 
orders  one  of  the  girls  to  divide  it  into  a  specified 
number  of  pieces.  If  it  be  a  fish,  or  animal  of  any 
kind,  she  keeps  the  head  for  herself  and  the 


Samoan  Dance.  51 

Tapou,  as  the  head  is  only  considered  fit  for  per- 
sons of  rank,  it  being  a  breach  of  etiquette  for  any 
of  the  lower  class  to  eat  it. 

To  prepare  Ava  we  dig  up  the  tree,  cut  off  the 
roots  and  put  them  out  in  the  sun  to  dry,  then  trim 
the  branches  off  the  tree,  stick  it  again  into  the 
ground  and  it  grows. 

The  Samoan  dance  consists  more  of  movements 
of  the  hands  than  of  the  feet  or  body.  They  sit 
or  stand  in  a  row  and  keep  time  to  a  tune  which 
they  sing  by  gestures  of  the  hands. 

When  they  come  together  for  a  sociable  dance 
they  wear  a  mat  of  strings  from  the  bark  of  trees. 
These  strings  are  plaited  together  so  that  about 
five  inches  of  each  string  protrudes  on  one  side, 
giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  skin  with  the  hair  on, 
but  rougher.  This  they  wear  with  the  smoother 
side  to  the  body,  while  they  dance,  unless  they 
are  giving  an  exhibition  to  white  folks,  when  they 
wear  skirts  like  ballet-dancers,  and  the  one  who 
can  dance  without  producing  upward  undulations 
of  these  skirts  is  considered  the  best  dancer. 

The  Samoans  are  a  very  hospitable  people.  If 
a  stranger  goes  among  them  he  never  wants  for 
food  or  shelter.  If  you  would  not  displease  a  Sa- 
moan always  come  empty  handed  and  trust  him  to 
supply  you  with  everything. 

The  Samoan  will  not  work,  so  foreigners  bring 
in  Africans  to  labor,  preparing  cocoanut  for  ex- 
port. 


52  Samoan  Education. 

GOING  TO  SCHOOL. 

When  I  first  went  to  school  I  had  no  hair  on  my 
head  except  the  "beauty  lock."  I  may  say  here, 
that  the  girls'  heads  are  kept  so  shaved  until  they 
reach  maturity,  which  in  Samoa  is  at  the  age  of 
eleven  years.  The  system  of  education  is  this: 
First  the  London  missionaries  educate  certain  Sa- 
moans  to  go  among  the  people  and  teach.  The 
only  books  they  study  are  the  Bible  and  a  scriptural 
song  book.  These  Samoans  teach  and  preach  every- 
day, the  London  missionaries  preach  only  on  Sun- 
day. All  children  are  privileged  to  go  to  these 
schools,  and  when  they  can  pass  a  satisfactory  ex- 
amination in  the  Bible  and  this  song  book,  they  can 
"go  out"  as  it  is  termed,  or  as  it  would  be  called 
in  this  country,  they  graduate. 

I  learned  the  A.  B.  C.'s  in  the  Samoan  language, 
then  words  of  one  syllable,  and  so  on.  I  made 
such  rapid  progress  that  I  was  soon  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  class,  of  which  position  I  was  very 
proud. 

After  this  graduation  if  the  girls  desire  to  be 
advanced  they  are  sent  to  the  white  missionaries 
to  acquire  further  education,  with  the  design  of 
eventually  becoming  missionaries  and  the  wives  of 
missionaries. 

My  mother,  like  myself,  was  born  in  Laulii,  her 
father's  name  being  Taliulu.  She,  having  gradu- 
ated at  her  native  town,  was  sent  to  the  white 
missionaries  at  Apia  to  be  further  educated  as  a 


Mrs.   Turner.  53 

missionary,  and  that  is  where  my  father  saw  her 
and  married  her. 

WANTED  TO  BE  A  MISSIONARY. 

It  was  always  my  desire  to  become  a  member  of 
Dr.  Turner's  school  that  I  might  fully  fit  myself  to 
be  a  missionary's  wife  and  teach  my  people. 

When  we  were  about  to  graduate  our  teacher 
sent  word  to  Mrs.  Turner,  asking  if  she  needed  a 
girl.  (If  the  girls  are  not  taken  by  missionaries 
when  they  graduate,  they  are  returned  to  their 
own  homes.) 

Mrs.  Turner  came  to  see  those  "  going  out  "  or 
graduating,  and  we  submitted  samples  of  our 
work  (sewing)  for  her  inspection,  and  out  of  the 
forty  girls  who  formed  the  class,  she  chose  me  as 
the  most  competent.  When  I  heard  of  her  prefer- 
ence for  me,  1  was  very  much  excited,  and  ran 
home  to  my  mother  to  ask  if  I  might  go.  My 
mother  said  I  was  "  too  little  to  go  away  from 
home,"  but  I  insisted,  and  she  concluded  to  abide 
by  my  father's  decision;  (it  is  the  father  who 
decides  all  important  questions) ;  on  hearing  the 
news  he  at  once  consented  to  my  going,  and  I 
accordingly  went  to  begin  my  new  life  in  the  mis- 
sionary's family. 

Arriving  there  in  the  afternoon,  Mrs.  Turner 
took  me  into  a  room  and  talked  with  me  for  some 
time ;  asked  me  if  I  would  be  willing  to  stay  with 
her,  as  I  would  not  be  allowed  to  go  home,  except 
when  my  father  sent  to  them  for  me.  I  said  I 


54  At  Dr.   Turner's. 

would  be  contented  there ;  so  the  next  morning  I 
presented  myself  and  asked  to  be  told  the  work  I 
was  expected  to  do.  She  brought  me  her  little 
boy,  Alexander  Turner,  and  said  I  was  to  take 
care  of  him  and  he  would  be  my  boy. 

We  studied  from  seven  o'clock  till  nine  in  the 
morning  of  the  first  day,  then  did  the  house-work, 
after  which  I  asked  the  missionary  if  I  might  go 
home  and  see  my  people  and  be  back  again  in  time 
for  dinner;  he  consented.  When  I  got  home  I 
told  my  mother  to  get  me  something  nice  to  take 
back  to  the  missionary  (the  missionaries  are  en- 
tirely provided  for  by  the  natives),  so  she  filled 
my  basket  with  the  best  in  the  house  and  I  then 
returned. 

In  the  afternoon  at  four  o'clock  we  all  went  in 
bathing,  the  boys  with  Dr.  Turner,  and  the  girls 
with  his  wife ;  at  six  o'clock  the  supper  bell  was 
rung  and  the  Doctor,  his  wife,  and  all  the  boys  sat 
down  at  the  table  and  the  girls  waited  upon  them ; 
when  they  had  finished  the  girls  had  their  supper 
and  cleared  off  the  dishes.  About  eight  o'clock 
the  bell  rang  for  studies  and  we  all  assembled  in 
the  room  (Mrs.  Turner  teaching  the  girls,  and  Dr. 
T.,  the  boys),  and  after  singing  hymns  (my  cousin, 
another  girl,  and  myself  led  the  chorus)  we  got  our 
slates  and  books  and  studied  till  about  ten  o'clock 
(committing  passages  from  the  Bible  to  memory, 
etc.,),  when  we  retired  for  the  night,  the  boys  go- 
ing to  a  house  near  by,  built  expressly  for  them, 
and  the  girls  remaining  under  the  Doctor's  roof. 


At   School  55 

I  remained  with  Mrs.  Turner  four  years,  during 
which  time  she  often  spoke  to  me  of  the  Queen  of 
England,  whom  I  considered,  next  to  God,  the 
greatest  being  in  existence.  I  knew  of  no  other 
king  or  queen  but  her,  and  Mrs.  T.  would  tell  me 
that  if  I  remained  with  them  -aid  was  good,  maybe 
when  their  time  was  up  they  would  take  me  to  see 
the  Queen.  I  used  to  take  the  children  out,  and 
spreading  mats  under  the  orange  and  bread-fruit 
trees,  they  would  read  the  books  and  papers  from 
England,  and  tell  me  about  them. 

When  I  went  to  Mrs.  Turner  I  was  already  a 
church  member,  as  she  would  take  no  other.  She 
would  tell  us  she  was  glad  we  belonged  to  the 
church  and  she  would  do  everything  in  her  power 
to  help  us,  but  we  must  try  to  make  her  happy  by 
doing  our  best,  for  she  had  come  thousands  of  miles 
away*  from  the  Queen  of  England  and  her  home  to 
teach  us  of  God  and  religion;  that  this  was  our 
country  and  we  must  learn  and  do  our  best  to  teach 
our  people.  We  were  very  fond  of  Mrs.  Turner  and 
did  our  best  to  please  her. 

This  school  of  young  Dr.  Turner's  is  a  training 
school  where  they  teach  and  instruct  boys  and 
girls  for  missionaries,  and  if  they  show  the  neces- 
sary improvement,  disposition,  etc.,  they  are  sent 
to  a  higher  school  about  twelve  miles  distant,  kept 
by  Dr.  Turner's  father  (George  Turner,  the  old 
missionary),  at  Malua. 


56  The  Old  Story. 

LOVE  COMES   IN. 

In  this  school  at  Malua  was  a  young  man  (a  Sa- 
moari)  whose  parents  were  desirous  of  having  me 
for  a  daughter-in-law,  but  my  people  did  not  think 
him  good  •  enough  for  me.  He  used  to  write  love 
letters  to  me  and  send  me  a  great  many  presents, 
but  I  did  not  like  him,  while  I  did  like  very  much 
a  young  man  who  attended  Dr.  Turner's  school; 
but  the  latter  was  of  a  lower  class  and  would  not 
be  approved  by  my  friends. 

Meantime  my  brother,  who  had  gone  as  a  trader 
to  the  island  of  Toga  (pronounced  Tonga)  when  I 
was  eleven  or  twelve  years  of  age.  There  he  met  a 
white  man  (whom  he  had  known  before)  who  had 
seen  me  when  I  was  little,  and  this  man  asked  him 
where  I  was,  and  my  brother  said  I  was  at  school. 
"Well,"  said  the  white  man,  "  send  for  her  to  come 
here  and  marry  me."  So  my  brother  wrote  to  me 
in  the  Samoan  language,  and  also  to  Dr.  Turner  in 
English,  sending  money  to  pay  my  passage,  and 
making  arrangements  to  have  me  come  and  marry 
the  white  man.  When  I  read  the  letter  I  was 
very  much  frightened,  and  said  nothing  about  it ; 
and  when  Mrs.  T.  sent  for  me  and  asked  me  what 
my  brother  said,  I  replied,  "Oh,  that  they  are  all 
well,"  or  something  to  that  effect.  "Did  he  say 
nothing  about  a  white  man?"  she  asked.  Then  I 
began  to  cry  and  acknowledged  that  he  had,  but  I 
was  afraid  of  white  men  and  did  not  want  to  go. 
Mrs.  Turner  was  very  kind  to  me  and  comforted 


My  Brother  Angry.  57 

me  by  saying:  "You  shall  not  go  if  you  do  not 
wish  it."  So  they  wrote  to  my  brother  that  I  did 
not  want  to  go,  and  they  would  keep  me.  My 
brother  was  very  angry  when  he  received  the  let- 
ter, and  immediately  wrote  to  me  that  he  would 
be  down  on  the  next  boat  to  take  me  up  to  Toga. 
On  receiving  this  letter  I  went  home  and  told  my 
father  all  about  it,  and  he  said  I  should  not  go  if 
I  did  not  want  to;  so  I  returned  to  school,  where, 
soon  afterward,  my  brother  and  his  wife  came  and 
tried  to  force  me  to  go  with  them. 

When  I  refused  they  threatened  to  take  me 
away  from  the  mission,  and  I  went  to  Mrs.  Turner 
and  told  her;  she  said,  "That  is  all  right;  Dr. 
Turner  will  fix  that."  My  brother  and  sister  came 
and  said  my  father  wanted  to  see  me  (this  was  un- 
true). 

The  Doctor  told  them  if  he  wanted  to  see  me  to- 
"Tell  him  to  come  here." 

"But,"  they  replied,  "he  is  sick." 
"Well,  if  he  is  sick  I  will  go  and  see  him." 
"  Oh,  he  is  not  very  sick,  but  he  wants  to  see  her.'r 
"Well,  tell  him  to  come  up  here  and  see  her." 
This  conversation  took  place  after  I  had  seen  my 
brother  -and  sister,  and  they  had  asked  me  to  come 
home  and  see  my  father,  as  he  was  sick.     I  said  I 
would  go  and  tell  the  Doctor  that  I  was  going, 
thus   getting    away    without    exciting   their    sus- 
picions.    The  Doctor  had  told  me  if  they  called  for 
me  to  tell  him,  and  I  did  so. 

5 


58  An  Obstinate  Girl. 

My  lover,  at  Dr.  Turner's  hearing  of  these  at- 
tempts to  make  me  marry  a  white  man,  wrote  to 
me  that  he  was  very  much  alarmed,  and  he  was 
also  afraid  of  the  young  man  at  Malua,  who  contin- 
ued to  send  me  presents.  In  this  dilemma  I  went  to 
see  my  father;  my  parents  were  very  much  sur- 
prised so  see  me,  told  me  to  come  and  eat  some- 
thing, and  my  mother  prepared  some  thing  to  take 
back  to  the  missionary.  I  ate  something,  then  said  I 
wished  to  speak  to  my  father,  and  asked  my  mother 
to  go  outside;  she  could  not  imagine  what  I  could 
have  to  say  to  my  father,  but  she  retired ;  I  threw 
my  arms  around  my  father's  neck  and  implored 
him  to  help  me.  He  was  somewhat  alarmed,  and 
asked  me  to  tell  him  what  was  the  matter.  I  told 
him  all  about  my  brother's  scheme,  and  declared  I 
did  not  want  to  marry  this  white  man ;  that  I  loved 
another,  but  was  afraid  he  would  not  consent  to 
our  marriage.  He  asked  me  who  this  person  was 
and  when  I  told  him  he  was  shocked;  said  he 
would  rather  hang  me  to  a  cocoanut  tree  than  see 
me  the  wife  of  that  low-class  young  man.  I  said 
•"  If  you  do  not  help  me  I  will  run  away  and  marry 
liim  any  how."  I  was  a  very  obstinate  girl.  He 
pleaded  with  me,  but  I  was  obstinate,  and  when  I 
returned  to  school  I  told  Mrs.  T.  all  about  it  and 
she  said:  "  Don't  be  foolish;  you  are  not  of  an  age 
to  marry  yet,  and  he  is  not  worthy  of  you,  and  is 
not  your  equal." 

I  replied  that  "I  loved  him  and  would  marry  him." 


Meeting  of  the  Family.  59 

She  tried  to  dissuade  me  and  said  I  must  get  the 
consent  of  my  parents,  as  the  missionaries  would 
be  blamed  if  they  were  to  marry  us  otherwise. 

My  father  finding  me  so  obstinate,  called  the 
family  together  to  have  their  opinions. 

When  the  family  was  assembled,  father  told  them 
of  my  attachment  for  this  lower  class  young  man, 
and  my  determination  to  marry  him  at  all  hazards. 
My  mother  tore  her  hair  and  declared  she  would 
rather  be  in  her  grave  than  see  me  the  wife  of  such 
a  man;  my  sister  vowed  I  should  not  marry  him; 
and  my  brother  said  he  would  shoot  me  first;  my 
father  tried  to  pacify  them,  but  my  brother  insisted 
on  having  me  sent  for.  Accordingly  my  little  sis- 
ter presented  herself  at' the  Doctor's  and  told  him 
that  my  father  was  sick  and  wanted  to  see  me.  Dr 
Turner  said  if  he  were  sick  he  would  go  and  see 
him ;  but  they  did  not  want  him,  so  finally  he  con-- 
sented  to  let  me  go  on  condition  that  I  should  be 
back  within  half  an  hour;  if  I  were  not  back  in 
that  time  they  would  have  to  account  for  me. 

On  our  way  to  my  people,  my  little  sister  said, 
"Oh,  Laulii,  I  am  afraid." 

"What  are  you  afraid  of  ?" 

"Father  and  mother,  and  all  of  the  family  are 
called  together  and  they  are  very  angry  with  you 
for  loving  this  low  class  man.  I  am  afraid  they 
will  whip  you." 

"Well,  if  they  are  going  to  whip  me,  I'll  run 
away,  I  won't  go  there." 


60  Formally  Engaged. 

"Oh  no,  don't  run  away;  maybe  they  will  not 
whip  you,  come  and  see  what  they  want." 

I  was  the  second  youngest  and  somewhat  of  a 
favorite  with  my  parents.  I  went  to  the  house  and 
my  father  told  me  that  they  were  all  opposed  to 
my  union  with  this  individual,  and  begged  me  to 
give  him  up  and  stay  with  them ;  implored  me  not 
to  marry  him;  but  I  said  I  loved  him  and  must 
marry  him.  At  this  my  brother  became  enraged, 
and  snatching  a  gun,  said  "I'll  fix  her,"  and  would 
have  shot  me  had  not  my  father  protected  me. 
Then  they  wanted  to  whip  me,  but  my  father  put 
his  arms  around  me  and  would  not  let  them  touch 
me. 

I  went  back  to  the  missionary's  and  my  father 
talked  with  my  people.  Told  them  I  was  deter- 
mined to  have  my  way  and  it  was  better  for  them 
to  submit  than  to  have  me  run  away,  and  be  lost 
to  them  forever.  So  I  was  formally  engaged  to  the 
man  of  my  choice,  and  according  to  the  custom  he 
returned  to  his  family  for  two  months  and  I  went 
to  mine.  When  the  two  months  were  up  his  peo- 
ple came  over  to  our  house  and  we  were  married. 

OUR   FAMILY. 

My  father  was  a  man  of  medium  height,  and  had 
a  very  high  forehead.  He  had  but  one  wife, 
although  it  was  the  custom  there  to  have  half  a 
dozen,  and  the  chiefs  might  have  more.  He  had 
thirteen  children ;  I  was  next  to  the  youngest — the 
twelfth.  When  I  was  a  little  girl  there  were  only 


No  More  Smoking.  61 

my  youngest  brother,  my  little  sister  and  myself 
at  home.  There  are  five  of'  us  now  living — two 
boys  and  three  girls. 

PUNISHMENT   FOR   SMOKING. 

My  father  was  quick-tempered  and  passionate. 
He  would  punish  us  severely  if  we  did  not  obey 
his  commands  to  the  letter.  He  whipped  me 
only  once,  but  I  will  never  forget  it,  and  shall 
bear  the  marks  through  life.  When  I  was  about 
six  ^  ears  old  my  brother,  two  nieces,  my  sister 
and  myself  were  playing  outside,  and  my  father 
called  us  in,  saying  he  wanted  to  speak  to  us.  He 
sent  everyone  else  outside,  then  said:  "Children, 
I  am  big  now,  and  old,  and  know  much  about  the 
world,  but  I  smoke ;  when  I  was  young  my  father 
did  not  teach  me  different ;  now  I  know  it  is  a  bad 
thing  to  smoke,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  Your  moth- 
er also  smokes  because  her  father  and  mother  did 
not  know  how  bad  it  was ;  but  now  we  know,  and 
I  want  you — each  of  you,  my  children,  to  promise 
me  you  will  not  smoke.  Will  you  promise?" 
"Oh,  yes,  we  will."  "And  you  will  keep  your 
promise?"  "Oh,  yes,  we  will  never  smoke." 
"All  right;  but  if  you  break  your  promise  I  will 
break  your  backs;  go  now  and  remember." 

One  Saturday  afternoon  we  children  were  play- 
ing house  under  a  sheet  we  had  stretched  over  us 
as  a  tent,  when  one  suggested  that  we  play  "  that 
we  are  old  folks  and  come  to  visit."  (It  is  the 
custom  there,  when  anyone  comes  in,  to  bring  out 


62  Broken  Promises. 

cigarettes  and  smoke.)  So  my  brother,  one  of  my 
nieces  and  myself  went  out  and  sat  on  the  ground 
after  the  fashion  of  the  old  people  in  Samoa. 
Pretty  soon  we  went  in,  and  the  others  passed  us 
banana  leaves  rolled  up  in  the  form  of  cigarettes, 
and  we  began  to  smoke. 

We  did  not  notice  my  father  who  was  just  coming 
home  from  planting,  but  he  saw  us  and  was  so  en- 
raged that  he  pulled  a  banana  tree  up  by  the  roots 
and  started  after  us;  we  ran  as  fast  as  we  could,  not 
heeding  his  commands  to  stop.  He  caught  my 
brother  first  as  he  was  the  oldest,  brought  him  to 
the  house,  then  came  after  the  rest  of  us,  and 
caught  us  one  by  one  and  brought  us  back;  when 
we  were  all  in  the  house  he  set  us  up  in  a  corner 
and  said:  "Now  what  was  our  arrangement  about 
this  smoking?  " 

We  told  him. 

"  Well,  what  were  you  doing  ?  " 

"We were  only  pretending." 

"  You  broke  your  promise." 

u  There  was  no  tobacco  in  it;  we  were  only  pre- 
tending. 

"  But  you  broke  your  promise." 

"Yes." 

He  then  sent  every  one  out  except  us  children, 
took  my  brother  out  and  beat  him  with  the  banana 
tree.  He  whipped  him  till  the  blood  ran  out  of 
his  body.  My  mother  and  relatives  rushed  in  and 
tried  to  take  my  brother  from  him  but  he  ordered 


Our  Houses.  63 

them  out.  Having  finished  with  my  brother  he 
sent  him  into  the  corner  and  called  me  out.  We 
each  went  through  the  same  while  my  mother  was 
crying  and  screaming  outside.  When  we  were  all 
through  we  were  allowed  to  depart,  and  we  never 
pretended  to  smoke  again. 

We  do  riot  consider  it  hot  there,  but  the  white 
people  find  it  too  hot,  as  they  wear  too  much  clothes 
when  they  first  come ;  but  after  they  are  there 
a  little  while  they  leave  everything  off  but  the 
lightest  clothing. 

HEAD    OF    THE    FAMILY. 

The  father  there  is  considered  the  head  of  the 
family;  his  word  is  law.  We  make  all  the  fuss 
over  our  fathers;  not  over  our  mothers,  as  children 
do  here. 

HOUSES. 

Our  houses  are  oval.  When  a  man  has  made 
up  his  mind  to  build  a  house  he  notifies  all  his 
relatives  for  miles  around,  and  they  all  come  to- 
gether and  help.  While  the  men  are  cutting  the 
timbers  (they  cut  the  timber  from  bread-fruit  tree 
with  an  ax ;  this  wood  is  very  light  and  durable ; 
will  not  be  eaten  by  worms  or  ants;)  and  building 
the  house,  the  women,  except  the  mistress  of  the 
house,  who  stays  to  prepare  the  dinner,  all. go  out 
and  gather  sugar-cane  leaves,  which  they  plait 
together  to  cover  the  roof.  The  leaves  of  the 
sugar-cane  are  long  and  slender  (two  or  three  yards 
long.) 


64  The  Way  We  Cook. 

TALO. 

The  talo  is  like  the  very  big  beets  we  have  here, 
only  they  are  of  different  colors — red,  white  or 
yellow.  When  the  big  leaves  fall  apart  the  fruit  is 
ripe,  and  we  cut  off  the  leaves,  leaving  part  of  the 
stalks  on  the  root.  We  then  dig  up  the  root,  cut 
it  off  near  the  top,  and  put  back  this  part,  with  the 
pieces  of  stalks  attached,  into  the  ground,  and  in 
six  months  another  root  grows  to  it.  This  root 
varies  in  size  from  the  smaller  ones,  which  are  the 
sweetest  and  best,  to  those  which  are  a  yard  long 
and  a  foot  and  a  half  through.  The  skin  is  rough, 
and  we  scrape  it  off  with  scoops  made  of  cocoanut 
shells ;  we  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground,  place  a  stick 
upright  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  fill  in  the  space 
around  the  stick  with  cocoanut  leaves,  etc.,  place 
the  root  on  top  of  the  stick  and  scrape  it.  We  use 
the  talo  as  the  potato  and  bread  are  used  here. 
We  cook  bread-fruit  in  many  different  ways. 
Sometimes  we  scrape  it  off  and  cook  it  whole  'or  in 
two  parts,  or  we  may  leave  the  skin  on  and  place 
it  over  the  fire,  and  when  it  is  cooked  the  skin  is 
hard  and  dry,  and  we  break  it  off  and  eat  the  fruit 
with  salt  water  and  cocoanut  milk.  We  also  have 
several  different  varieties'  of  the  yam;  some  like 
the  potato  and  others  sweeter. 

MEAT. 

Hogs,  pigs,  chickens  and  pigeons  are  plentiful; 
we  have  turkeys,  too,  but  they  are  scarce;  plenty 
of  eggs  (birds'  eggs),  which  we  always  cook.  The 


No  Use  for  Knives.  65 

pigeons  in  America  cannot  compare  with  those  in 
Samoa.  On  a  layer  first  of  banana  leaves,  then 
talo  leaves,  we  place  the  pigeon,  with  cocoanut 
meat  on  top  of  it;  then  place  hot  stones  inside, 
wrap  the  pigeons  up  tight,  put  them  in  the  oven, 
and,  when  cooked,  mash  talo  leaves  very  fine,  and 
the  cocoanut  milk  will  foam  all  over  them,  and 
they  are  delicious.  We  do  not  need  knives  and 
forks,  they  are  so  tender.  The  Samoans  say, 
"Why  do  we  need  knives,  forks  and  spoons  when 
God  has  given  us  fingers?"  Our  chief  meat  is 
pork. 

FISHING. 

We  fish  a  great  deal  with  nets,  hooks,  and  with- 
out either.  Our  nets  are  attached  at  each  end  to 
a  stick  about  the  size  of  a  gentleman's  cane;  one 
side  is  trimmed  with  shells  to  make  it  sink,  while 
the  other  is  drawn  together  by  means  of  a  cord  run 
through  the  holes  near  the  edge.  We  take  hold  of 
the  sticks  at  the  latter  side  and  hold  our  nets  while 
our  companions  drive  the  fish  into  the  nets,  then 
we  scoop  them  up.  The  nicest  fish  stay  in  deep 
water  and  we  go  out  in  our  canoes  and  look  for 
them  near  the  rocks ;  where  we  see  the  most  fish 
we  all  j  ump  out  and  make  a  great  noise  to  frighten 
them,  and  they  go  in  holes  under  the  rocks ;  then  we 
dive  down  with  cloths  wrapped  around  our  hands, 
so  the  fish  cannot  slip  away,  and  draw  them  out. 
If  we  get  one  that  is  very  large  and  difficult  to 
catch  and  do  not  get  it  the  first  time,  we  put  a  stone 


66  Trouble  Ahead. 

over  the  hole  while  we  go  up  to  the  surface  to 
breathe,  then  we  go  back  and  catch  it.  I  was  noted 
as  a  fisher.  The  "  Ange,"  a  fish  about  a  yard  long 
and  very  slender,  is  considered  the  best.  We  never 
cook  this  fish,  but  clean  it  and  eat  it  with  salt  water. 
There  are  a  few  fish  that  are  not  good  to  eat  raw ; 
but  as  a  rule  we  don't  cook  fish. 

We  get  our  pigs  from  New  Zealand  and  raise  them ; 
they  are  not  as  large  as  those  in  this  country — 
shorter  and  fat.  There  are  some  wild  ones — they 
are  large  but  tough.  One  of  my  greatest  delights 
was  the  possession  of  a  little  pet  pig. 

TROUBLE. 

After  our  marriage  (I  was  fourteen,  my  husband 
about  twenty-one),  I  stayed  with  my  husband  at 
my  father's  house  from  Wednesday,  the  day  of  our 
marriage,  until  Saturday,  when  we  went  to  the  mis- 
sion, some  two  three  hundred  yards  distant.  My 
father's  house  was  divided  into  two  rooms  by  par- 
titions ;  at  the  mission  we  had  a  room  to  ourselves. 
We  were  at  the  mission  about  a  week  when  we  re- 
ceived word  from  my  people  that  my  nephew  was 
sick,  and  we  were  asked  to  come  down.  I  showed 
the  letter  to  Mrs.  Turner  and  she  said,  "All  right; 
you  and  your  husband  may  go  down  after  supper 
this  evening."  After  supper  we  went  down  and 
found  my  nephew  dangerously  sick.  We  remained 
till  seven  o'clock,  when  my  mother  said  the  boy 
was  out  of  danger  and  we  might  return  to  the  mis- 
sion. 


Influence  of  Drink.  67 

On  our  way  back  to  the  mission  we  had  to  pass 
a  public  house  kept  by  my  sister,  who  had  married 
a  half-caste.  It  was  her  child  who  was  sick,  and 
she  had  gone  up  to  my  father's  house  with  him, 
leaving  the  house  and  the  other  children  in  charge 
of  a  distant  relation  (a  woman  whose  husband  had 
left  her  some  time  before).  As  we  were  passing 
this  house  we  were  greeted  by  this  woman,  who 
was  sitting  on  the  veranda  with  a  white  man.  We 
answered  her  and  were  about  to  pass  on,  but  she 
asked  us  in;  we  refused,  saying  it  was  late,  pretty 
near  nine  o'c!ock,  and  we  must  go  home.  She  per- 
sisted, and  the  white  man  said:  "Oh  yes,  come  in 
and  have  a  drink."  At  this  my  husband  said,  "Yes, 
let  us  go  in."  We  did  so  and  the  white  man  brought 
out  a  bottle  of  beer  and  asked  me  take  a  drink. 

"Oh  no,"  I  said,  "I  am  a  missionary  and  must 
not  drink." 

"Oh,  come  on  and  drink." 

"No,  no,  I  don't  want  any." 

"Well,  come  and  have  a  talk  then,"  and  he  seated 
himself  on  the  settee  between  my  cousin  (this  wo- 
man) and  me,  and  the  three  took  some  more  beer 
and  he  again  tried  to  induce  me  to  drink,  but  I 
would  not.  After  awhile  he  got  up  and  said  he 
would  get  another  bottle  of  beer. 

I  said  to  my  husband,  "It  is  getting  late,  the 
nine  o'clock  bells  will  soon  ring,  let  us  go." 

"Oh  no,  it  is  not  late,  stay  a  little  longer,"  said 
my  cousin.  Instead  of  getting  the  bottle  of  beer, 


68  The  White  Man's  Strategy. 

the  white  man  blew  out  the  light  and  then  rushed 
in  between  my  husband  and  myself  and  said  to  my 
cousin,  "How  would  you  like  to  marry  Laulii's  hus- 
band, and  I'll  marry  Laulii." 

It  was  a  clear  moonlight  night  and  we  went  out 
and  walked  on  the  veranda.  I  now  attempted  to 
make  my  husband  go  home  with  me,  but  could  not 
get  him  up. 

Meanwhile  the  children  had  gone,  very  much  ex- 
cited, to  my  sister,  and  told  her  the  white  man 
blew  out  the  light.  She  came  rushing  down  just 
as  we  were  preparing  to  say  "good-bye,"  and  was 
very  much  surprised  to  see  my  husband  and  me 
there. 

"Laulii,  what  are  you  doing  there?" 

"I  am  trying  to  get  my  husband  home,  but  can- 
not get  him  up." 

She  then  asked  what  the  white  man  was  doing- 
there.  I  said  that  I  did  not  know ;  that  he  and  my 
cousin  were  there  when  we  came. 

On  hearing  this  she  grabbed  my  cousin  by  the 
hair,  and,  twisting  it  around  her  hand,  pulled  her 
up  to  her  own  mother's  house,  next  door,  then 
came  back  and  ordered  us  all  out.  I  had  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  getting  my  husband  started,  and 
when  we  did  the  white  man  followed  us.  When 
we  got  to  the  church,  where  his  road  branched  off 
from  that  leading  to  the  mission,  the  white  man 
asked  my  husband  to  go  with  him  a  part  of  the 
way  to  his  house  as  he  was  afraid  to  go  alone.  My 
husband  said  "All  right,  we'll  go." 


More  Beer.  69 

I  said  "Don't  you  go." 

"My  friend  is  afraid  to  go  in  the  dark." 

"I  am  afraid  to;  Mrs.  Turner  will  be  very  angry 
and  will  scold  me  to-rnorrow. 

"Oh,  let  us  go  with  him,  he  is  afraid  to  pass  those 
bushes  by  the  river." 

So  they  walked  arm  in  arm  in  front,  and  I  fol- 
lowed behind  till  we  came  to  the  river,  when  I  said 
to  my  husband,  "Let  us  go  back  now."  He  replied, 
"Yes,  we  will  go  back,  or  the  missionary  will  be 
angry  with  us  to-morrow." 

The  white  man  said:  "Oh  no,  come  a  little  far- 
ther, I  am  afraid." 

"Come,  Laulii,  let  us  walk  a  little  farther,  there 
are  some  bushes  on  the  road  and  he  will  be  afraid 
to  pass  them." 

I  said  that  we  would  be  afraid  to  come  back,  but 
my  husband  said:  "Oh  no,  we  won't  be  afraid." 

So  we  kept  on  till  we  came  to  the  white  man's 
house,  when  he  said  "I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do; 
you  (to  my  husband)  go  over  to  the  store  and  get 
a  dollar's  worth  of  beer."  He  pulled  out  the  dol- 
lar and  my  husband  took  it  and  was  about  to  go ; 
I  said,  "Where  are  you  going?" 

"Oh,  never  mind,  I  will  soon  be  back." 

I  protested,  but  he  said:  "You  stay  here  with 
my  friend  and  I  will  soon  be  back." 

After  he  was  gone  the  white  man  began  making 
love  to  me ;  told  me  how  he  had  loved  me  before 
I  was  married,  but  that  I  had  never  cared  for  him. 


TO  In  a  Quandary. 

I  said  "Never  mind  telling  me  about  it,  I'm  mar- 
ried now." 

He  said:  "If  you  will  arrange  it,  I  have  a  ship 
here  and  will  take  you  to  see  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land." 

"  Oh,  no;  I  wont  go." 

"  Yes,  come;  I  will  fix  it." 

"  Oh,  no;  I  am  afraid.  Mrs.  Turner  will  be 
angry  and  will  scold." 

"No,  she  won't;  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do. 
You  come  with  your  husband  to  (naming  a  certain 
point)  early  in  the  morning,  and  I  will  be  there 
and  will  take  you  on  board  my  ship,  and  there  will 
be  no  trouble  at  all." 

"  Oh,  no;  I  am  afraid." 

"Just  then  my  husband  came  back  and  the  white 
man  took  the  bottle  and  breaking  the  head  off  gave 
my  husband  a  lot  of  it  but  took  only  a  little  of  it 
himself.  They  drank  a  long  time,  but  did  not  ofier 
me  any.  When  they  had  finished  the  liquor,  I  said : 
"Now  we  will  go  home."  The  white  man  offered 
to  walk  back  with  us,  but  I  said:  "You  will  be 
afraid  to  come  back  alone." 

"  Oh,  no;  I  have  some  friends  over  there  and  I 
will  stop  with  them." 

I  said:  "  Never  mind,  if  he  wants  to  come,  let 
him."  (It  was  now  after  twelve  o'clock.)  He 
started  off  arm  in  arm  with  my  husband,  and  after 
they  had  walked  a  little  ways  he  asked  me  to  take 
his  arm.  I  refused,  and  my  husband  said:  "What's 
the  matter  with  you,  come  and  take  his  arm." 


The  House  of  the  Tahiti  Woman.  71 

I  said:   "No." 

After  they  had  walked  this  way  for  some  time 
I  asked  the  white  man  if  he  had  not  better  go  back. 

"  Oh,  no,"  he  replied,  I  will  go  on." 

When  we  came  again  to  the  church,  I  said: 
"  I  am  going  home  now,  it  is  pretty  near  day- 
light and  the  people  will  soon  be  up  to  get  their 
breakfasts.  (The  Samoans  cook  all  the  food  they 
require  for  Sunday  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing.) Hunt  (the  white  man)  «aid:  "Nevermind, 
come  with  me  to  my  friend's  and  have  a  drink  be- 
fore you  go</'  To  go  to  his  friend's  house  we  would 
have  to  pass  my  sister's  house,  and  the  white  man 
expressed  his  fear  that  my  sister  might  see  us. 

"Oh,  I  can  show  you  a  way,"  said  Selia  (my 
husband),  and  he  led  us  around  back  of  the  church, 
and  we  soon  came  to  the  house,  which  belonged  to 
the  son  of  my  father's  cousin.  This  son  was  mar- 
ried to  a  Tahiti  woman ;  they  lived  near  my  father 
and  mother,  who  Avere  already  awake  and  prepar- 
ing their  breakfast. 

This  was  one  of  the  few  wooden  houses  on  the 
island. 

I  said  to  Selia,  "  Oh,  there  is  my  father,  if  he 
sees  us  he  will  kill  us."  Hunt  went  up  and  called 
the  Tahiti  woman;  she  answered,  and  he  said: 
"Wake  up,  we  want  some  beer." 

"  All  right,"  and  she  gave  him  the  key.  I  said: 
"  Selia,  this  is  Sunday,  you  must  not  go  in,  come 
home." 


72  My  Husband  Tries  to  Sell  Me. 

Hunt  said:  "  Oh,  that  is  nothing,  come  in." 

I  again  asked  Selia  not  to  go,  and  the  white  man 
got  angry  and  called  me  names. 

We  went  in  and  they  drank  and  I  heard  my  hus- 
band say,  "  If  you  want  my  wife  I  will  give  her  to 
you,  I  don't  want  her."  I  cried,  "  Selia,  you  give 
me  away! " 

"  How  much  do  you  want,"  asked  Hunt. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  want  anything,  never  mind."  Hunt 
gave  him  some  money  and  a  fancy  trimmed  coat. 

My  husband  was  going  off  and  I  rushed  up  to 
him  and  cried:  "  Selia,  are  you  going  to  leave  me?" 

He  said  I  don't  want  you;  you  can  stay  with  the 
white  man;  he  can  have  you." 

Hunt  said:  "  Come  here,  Laulii,  he  don't  want 
you  any  more." 

I  resisted  and  the  noise  awakened  my  father's 
old  aunt,  who  called  me  out  and  asked  me  what  I 
was  doing  there. 

I  said:  "Oh,  my  husband  is  drunk  and  sold  me  for 
money  and  clothes." 

"  What!  What's  the  matter!" 

I  repeated :  "  He  sold  me  for  clothes  and  money!" 

Hunt  was  pulling  me  in  and  said,  "  Shut  upr 
your  husband  don't,  want  you  any  more — come  in 
and  shut  up." 

The  old  woman  had  spoken  so  loud  that  she  at- 
tracted my  father's  attention,  and  he  came  out. 
Seeing  my  husband  walking  around  with  the  money 
and  coat  in  his  hands,  he  asked  him  what  was  the 
matter  and  where  I  was? 


PAPASEEA  (Sliding  Rock). 


In  the  Mud.  73 

"  She's  gone  with  a  white  man  and  I  don't  want 
anything  more  to  do  with  her." 

"  Where  is  she  ?" 

"  She's  in  therewith  a  white  man — I  don't  want 
her  any  more." 

I  had  torn  away  from  Hunt  and  rushed  out,  but 
my  father's  anger  frightened  me,  and  I  ran  back 
and  told  Hunt  to  shut  the  door;  my  father  knocked 
at  the  door,  and  Hunt  told  me  to  hide,  pointing 
under  the  bed.  I  ran  under  the  table;  my  father 
broke  down  the  door  and  rushed  in  saying,  u  Where, 
where  is  she  ?"  Hunt  pointed  under  the  bed  and 
while  my  father  was  looking  there,  I  jumped  out  of 
the  window.  He  saw  me  and  jumped  after  me  and 
we  ran,  he  threatening  to  kill  me.  I  ran  towards 
a  swamp  and  as  I  dodged  ryund  a  clump  of  sugar  - 
<canes,  my  father  slipped  and  I  got  away  and  hid  in 
the  mud.  I  remained  there  all  day  with  only  my 
faca  above  the  mud.  The  whole  town  was  out  look- 
ing for  me.  I  could  hear  them  calling  and  my 
mother  often  passed  close  by  crying  and  calling  me, 
but  I  did  not  move  until  evening,  when  I  crawled 
out  and  found  my  mother.  By  this  time  the  pas- 
sionate nature  of  the  Samoan  had  cooled  and  al- 
though my  father  threatened  to  whip  me,  he  did 
not  carry  out  his  threat. 

Meanwhile  my  husband  had  gone  to  the  mission 
and  told  them  I  had  run  away  with  a  white  man, 
and  he  did  not  want  anything  more  to  do  with  me. 
We  both  belonged  to  the  church,  and  while  he  was 

6 


74  Stealing  Bibles. 

allowed  to  receive  the  communion  I  was  prohibited. 
I  told  nry  story  to  my  people;  and  when  Dr.  Tur- 
ner heard  that  I  was  found  he  sent  for  me  to  come 
and  tell  him  my  story.  I  did  so,  and  when  he  heard 
it,  he  exclaimed:  "Did  Selia  do  all  this?" 

I  said  "He  did." 

He  then  sent  for  Selia  and  we  had  a  talk.  Se- 
lia told  the  Doctor  that  I  had  been  drinking  with 
the  white  man  and  that  he  had  followed  us  around 
all  night. 

"Well,"  said  the  Doctor,  "keep  this  quiet,  go 
back  to  your  father's  for  two  weeks,  and  I  will  see 
what  is  to  be  done." 

We  accordingly  went  to  my  father's  taking  with 
us  only  one  trunk.  The  first  night  we  were  there 
the  servants  from  the  mission  came  down  and  sur- 
rounded the  house,  and  the  head  man  came  in  and 
asked  Salia  if  he  had  taken  any  Bibles  with  him. 
My  husband  said  he  did  not.  Then  the  boy  who 
kept  the  key  and  had  charge  of  the  Bibles,  etc., 
came  in  and  asked  Selia  if  he  did  not  steal  some 
Bibles. 

"No,  I  didn't  take  anything." 

"You  didn't  take  any  Bibles  while  you  were 
there?" 

"No,  I  didn't." 

My  father  came  in  and  the  men  explained  to  him 
that  after  we  left,  Dr.  Turner  had  missed  some  Bi- 
bles, and  sent  them  down  to  ascertain  if  Selia  had 
sold  them,  or  what  he  had  done  with  them.  My 


My  Husband  Banished.  75 

father  turned  to  my  husband  and  asked  him  if  he 
had  taken  them.  Selia  again  denied  having  touched 
them. 

"You  didn't  ?" 

"No." 

"You  didn't  bring  any  here  with  you  ?" 

"I  brought  one  that  I  always  had  at  the  mis- 
sion." 

"Where  is  it?" 

My  husband  pointed  at  the  trunk  and  my  father 
broke  it  open  and  found  it  full  of  Bibles,  with  only 
a  dress  or  two  of  mine  on  top  to  hide  them.  He 
flung  the  Bibles  out  and  ordered  Selia  to  leave  the 
house,  and — pointing  to  me — said,  "She  is  not 
your  wife  any  more ;  go  home  to  your  people  and 
never  come  to  this  side  of  the  island  again."  Thus 
we  were  parted,  for  as  my  father's  decision  was 
positive  law,  his  word  made  me  a  single  woman, 
again. 

After  the  banishment  of  my  husband,  Hunt  fol- 
lowed me  up;  and  as  I  was  sitting  at  the  house 
with  my  sister  one  evening,  he  passed  and  spoke 
to  me.  My  sister  said:  "If  you  open  your  mouth 
to  him  I'll  kill  you  both."  I  did  not  answer  and 
he  passed  on.  He  went  to  the  Tahiti  woman  and 
gave  her  a  letter  to  give  to  me.  She  came  up  to 
the  house  and  said  she  was  in  trouble,  and  wanted 
to  speak  to  me.  She  had  brought  a  nice  orange 
for  me,  and  asked  me  to  come  inside  and  she  would 
tell  me  all  about  her  trouble  while  I  was  eating  it. 


76  Going  to  Run  Away. 

I  went  in  and  she  slipped  the  letter  into  my  hand. 
My  sister  had  not  spoken  to  her,  but  now  she  came 
in  and  asked  her  why  she  came. 

"Oh,  I  came  to  bring  Laulii  an  orange." 

"Laulii  has  plenty  of  oranges  here;  go  away,  get 
out  of  here." 

The  letter  was  written  in  the  Samoan  language 
and  he  asked  me  to  be  at  the  river  at  six  o'clock 
the  next  morning  and  he  would  be  there  with  a 
boat,  to  take  me  out  to  the  ship,  which  was  lying 
out  at  sea.  I  thought  of  what  I  had  gone  through^ 
and  that  if  I  went  I  would  escape  all  future  trouble, 
and  I  said  to  myself:  "I  will  see  the  Queen  of 
England,  but  oh  dear,  if  I  go  so  far  away  the  ship 
may  sink  and  I  shall  never  see  my  father  again." 
Then  I  thought,  "Never  mind,  when  I  am  gone 
they  will  feel  sorry  and  will  send  after  me." 

So  next  morning  I  was  awake  long  before  the 
time.  I  thought  and  thought;  I  was  afraid,  yet  I 
determined  that  I  would  go. 

Everything  was  quiet  and  as  soon  as  it  was  early 
daylight  I  stole  out  and  ran  down  to  the  beach ;  I 
passed  my  sister's  house,  but  it  was  all  dark  and 
quiet,  and  I  was  congratulating  myself  on  my  safe 
escape  when  I  saw  some  one  coming.  She  came 
nearer  and  I  saw  it  was  my  sister.  She  had  sus- 
pected something  and  had  found  Hunt's  letter  which 
I  had  lost.  She  came  to  me  and  said:  "Laulii, 
what  are  you  doing  up  so  early?" 

I  said  "I  could  not  sleep  so  I  had  come  down." 


On  the  /Ship.  77 

"  All  right,  I  will  stay  here  with  you." 

"  Oh,  no,  you  needn't  stay,  see  how  pretty  the 
water  is.'' 

"Yes,  yes;  but  you  must  come  home." 

I  followed  her  home;  but  when  I  thought  her 
busy  with  the  children,  I  turned  and  ran  for  the 
beach  again. 

I  saw  the  white  man  waiting  for  me,  and  had 
nearly  reached  him  when  I  looked  around,  and 
there  was  my  sister  almost  upon  me  and  running 
very  fast.  Hunt  cried  to  me  to  hurry  and 
grabbed  my  hand  and  we  ran  on  together.  We 
got  to  the  boat  and  he  picked  me  lip  and  threw  me 
into  it  and  jumped  in  after  me.  We  were  about 
to  push  off  when  with  a  cry,  my  sister  jumped  and 
caught  the  boat;  we  pulled  away  with  my  sister 
clinging  to  the  boat  and  crying.  Finally,  Hunt  got 
up  and  struck  my  sister  in  the  face  and  on  the 
hands,  and  knocked  her  into  the  water,  and  we 
pulled  away  to  the  vessel. 

On  this  vessel  was  a  cousin  of  mine  who  had  al- 
ways protected  me  and  said  he  would  marry  me  if 
we  were  not  cousins.  (It  is  an  imperative  law  in 
Samoa  that  such  near  relations  must  not  marry.) 

When  Hunt  got  on  deck  he  exclaimed  in  a  boastful 
manner — "I  am  an  Englishman ! "  My  cousin  who 
had  taken  in  the  situation  on  the  moment  he  saw 
us,  stepped  forward,  saying:  "And  I  am  a  Samoan," 
struck  the  Englishman  and  knocked  him  down ;  then 
grabbed  me  and  throwing  me  into  the  water,  jumped 


78  Brought  Home  Again. 

in  after  me.  Hunt  got  up  and  taking  out  his  pis- 
tol, shot  at  my  cousin,  wounding  him.  By  this 
time  the  whole  town  was  roused  and  many  were 
out  in  boats ;  we  were  rescued,  and  I  was  taken 
back  to  my  father's  house.  On  the  way  the  Sa- 
moans  were  asking  each  other  why  this  white  man 
loved  me.  My  sister  overheard  one  say  that  it  was 
on  account  of  my  long  hair.  When  I  was  sitting 
in  my  father's  house,  she  came  in  crying  and  said: 
"  Come  here,  young  woman ;  what  a  girl!  what  a  girl! 
she  does  not  love  her  own  sister,  but  she  loves  a 
stranger.  That  man  don't  love  you,  but  your  own 
sister  does."  Then  she  came  over  where  I  was  sit- 
ting and  said  she  would  do  something  for  me,  and 
she  cut  off  all  my  hair  except  a  lock  or  two  (this 
is  a  mark  of  dishonor  for  young  women;  older 
people  wear  their  hair  long  or  short  as  suits  their 
fancy.)  I  felt  very  bad  at  losing  my  long  hair  and 
put  lime  on  what  was  left  and  bleached  it  as  the 
children  do. 

My  father  was  noted  as  a  fisherman,  and  did  the 
fishing  for  all  of  our  family.  He  would  go  out 
early  in  the  morning,  and  in  about  two  hours 
would  bring  in  sufficient  for  all  of  us.  What  I 
mean  by  our  family  is  not  only  us  children  and 
our  mother,  but  our  relatives,  who  live  close  to  us 
in  houses  all  around. 

The  fish  would  be  in  baskets,  and  we  children 
would  go  down  to  the  beach  when  father  came 
home  and  help  bring  the  baskets  up  to  the  house; 


Meet  Mr.  Willis.  79 

and  then  we  would  distribute  these  baskets  around 
to  our  relatives. 

Father  was  taken  sick  and  remained  so  for  some 
two  weeks,  and,  of  course ;  we  were  all  very  anx- 
ious to  have  him  get  well,  and  we  were  especially 
desirous  of  doing  something  for  him;  so  we  would 
ask  him  every  little  while  if  we  could  not  get 
something  for  him  to  eat,  and  after  some  question- 
ing by  us,  and,  I  guess,  to  get  rid  of  the  question 
as  much  as  anything  else,  he  said,  u  Yes,  he  would 
like  some  malau"  (this  means  gold-fish),  and,  of 
course,  we  were  delighted  to  think  that  we  could 
do  something  for  him,  and  get  what  he  desired ;  so 
my  brother,  my  cousin  and  myself  started  out  one 
morning  to  catch  the  fish. 

We  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  all  that  was 
necessary,  and  were  on  our  way  home,  when  we 
saw  a  ship  just  going  to  anchor  in  the  harbor.  My 
brother  said:  "Let's  go  and  see  what  ship  this 
is;"  but  my  cousin  said,  "No,  let's  go  right  ashore 
and  carry  the  fish  to  your  sick  father." 

MEETING    MR.    WILLIS. 

But  curiosity  prevailed,  and  we  went  alongside 
the  ship ;  and  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  a  white  man 
with  a  bald  head ;  that  looked  very  funny  to  me, 
as  I  had  never  seen  a  bald-headed  man  before. 
He  was  real  fat  and  nice  looking,  but  he  did  not 
have  any  hair  on  his  head ;  and  I  got  my  brother, 
who  could  talk  English,  to  ask  him,  just  as  soon 
as  we  got  on  board,  where  was  all  the  hair  that 


80  The  Curious  Bald  Head. 

belonged  on  his  head ;  and  the  white  man  told  him 
that  he  lived  in  California,  and  they  did  not  have 
any  cold  weather  there,  but  had  what  they  called 
"  a  glorious  climate,"  and  the  "climate"  had  taken 
all  the  hair  oft' his  head. 

We  got  very  well  acquainted,  and  I  liked  him, 
because  when  another  white  man  kept  talking  to 
me,  this  one  with  the  bald  head  quarreled  with 
him  and  knocked  him  down  so  he  should  not 
bother  me. 

As  Mr.  Willis  has  described  our  first  meeting,  I 
will  not  tell  you  over  again;  he  has  said  a  good 
deal  about  it,  and  said  a  good  many  other  things 
which  I  don't  know  whether  I  can  endorse  or  not, 
but  I  guess  I  can. 

When  we  left  the  ship  we  carried  the  Malau 
home  and  gave  it  to  father,  and  I  told  all  the  fam- 
ily about  what  had  taken  place  on  the  ship,  and 
about  the  white  man  with  the  bald  head,  who  had 
bought  all  our  fish  except  the  Malau,  which  we  had 
kept  concealed,  and  how  he  had  given  us  a  silver 
dollar  for  them,  and  how  he  had  fought  with  the 
white  man  to  protect  me,  and  told  all  about  how 
good  he  was,  and  how  much  I  was  interested  in 
him,  and  lots  of  things  I  can't  remember  now; 
it  must  be  remembered  that  there  were  but  very 
few  white  men  on  the  islands,  not  more  than  a 
hundred  all  told,  and  the  sight  of  one  was  some- 
thing of  a  novelty  to  us,  especially  one  who  didn't 
have  any  hair  on  his  head. 


How  to  Make  Hair  Grow.  81 

My  father  was  skilled  in  the  use  of  herbs  and 
roots,  what  you  may  term  a  doctor  or  as  we  say, 
"Fomai,"  and  I  asked  him  if  he  could  not  make 
hair  grow  on  the  white  man's  head;  he  laughed 
and  replied:  "I  will  have  to  see  the  head  first,  be- 
cause while  hair  can  be  made  to  grow  on  some 
heads,  there  are  others  where  it  cannot  be  pro- 
duced." 

That  same  evening  a  friend  of  ours,  named  Te- 
kori,  brought  the  white  man,  whose  name  was 
Alexander  A.  Willis,  down  to  our  house  to  see  my 
father.  Our  father  had  previously  told  us  that  when 
the  white  man  with  no  hair  came  to  our  house,  we 
children  must  keep  out  of  the  way  and  not  be  both- 
ering around,  as  he  wanted  to  see  the  head,  and 
have  a  talk  through  the  interpreter,  and  so  forth. 

But  to  all  of  the  children  hearing  that  there  was 
a  man  with  no  hair  coming  to  the  house,  the  order 
to  keep  away  was  just  sufficient  to  excite  every- 
body's curiosity  and  had  precisely  the  opposite 
effect  from  what  was  intended ;  so  we  kept  hanging 
around  and  peeping  in.  (See  Willis'  account  of 
this  visit.) 

As  soon  as  my  father  saw  Mr.  Willis'  head,  he 
said  the  hair  could  be  made  to  grow  again  upon  it, 
and  told  the  process  to  which  Mr.  Willis  agreed; 
then  my  father  asked  my  mother  to  shave  Mr. 
Willis'  head  which  she  did  then  and  there,  and  we 
children  laughed  at  the  funny  appearance  the  head 
presented. 


82  An  Island  Picnic. 

Mr.  Willis  had  made  arrangements  with  a  Tahiti 
woman  to  write  letters  for  him  to  me  and  to 
receive  the  answers,  but  I  did  not  like  this  Tahiti 
woman  and  would  not  have  anything  to  do  with 
her ;  and  while  I  would  have  been  very  glad  to  get 
the  letters,  yet  I  did  not  want  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  this  woman,  or  in  any  way  have  her  con- 
sidered as  a  friend  of  mine.  I  knew  Mr.  Willis 
would  soon  find  out  who  she  was  and  also  find 
some  other  way  to  communicate  with  me  if  he  was 
very  anxious  to  do  so. 

A    SAMOAN    PICNIC. 

Soon  after  this,  there  was  to  be  a  picnic,  or  what 
we  call  a  Malaga,  (pronounced  Ma-lang-a)  the  true 
meaning  of  which  is  a  journey  or  a  traveling  party, 
which  was  going  to  the  island  of  Savoii. 

These  picnics  are  always  made  in  boats,  and 
might  be  termed  visits  of  one  island,  or  section  of 
an  island  to  another;  we  go  in  boats,  in  parties  of 
from  a  hundred  to  a  thousand,  never  taking  any 
provisions  or  supplies  of  any  kind  with  us,  as  it  is 
a  point  of  honor  with  those  visited  to  supply  their 
visitors  with  everything  necessary. 

Our  boats  are  made  of  native  wood,  and  are 
from  ten  to  fifty  feet  long,  and  from  three  to 
twelve  feet  wide,  and  will  hold  from  ten  to  a 
hundred  people ;  they  are  built  without  nails,  but 
the  timbers  are  made  smooth  and  tied  together 
with  cords  made  of  the  fibre  of  the  cocoanut,  and 
to  prevent  leaking  are  painted  or  plastered  with 


Going  to  Savaii.  83 

the  water-proof  gum  of  the  bread-fruit  tree,  which 
renders  them  perfectly  dry  and  impervious  to  wet. 

The  bow  or  prow  of  the  boat  is  often  of  a  fancy 
character,  according  to  the  design  of  the  builder 
or  the  wealth  of  the  owner,  carved  and  decorated 
with  shells  and  trimmings,  presenting  a  novel  and 
attractive  appearance. 

This  picnic  to  Savaii  consisted  of  five  boats  con- 
taining about  three  hundred  people.  We  have  a 
regular  order  in  loading  these  boats;  the  young 
men  sit  in  the  middle  to  do  the  paddling;  the  girls 
sit  in  the  front  of  the  boat,  and  the  old  people  at 
the  stern.  We  have  no  rudder  to  our  boat,  but  it 
is  steered  with  a  long  oar.  Each  boat  has  one 
mast  upon  which  a  sail  can  be  placed  whenever 
necessary ;  but  for  our  picnics  we  decorate  this  mast 
with  flowers,  evergreens  and  streamers  of  all  sorts 
and  colors  to  let  everyone  know  it  is  a  picnic  party. 

And  here  let  me  say  that  this  was  what  would 
be  called  in  civilized  countries  a  "select  party;" 
no  one  was  allowed  to  go  except  a  member  of  our 
own  family ;  no  outsiders  or  others  than  those  con- 
nected in  some  manner,  by  marriage  or  otherwise, 
were  permitted  to  be  present,  and  these  three 
hundred,  people  were  about  half  of  my  father's 
"family." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  when  we  went  on 
this  picnic  to  Savaii  we  went  directly  to  that  point 
after  starting;  by  no  means;  it  took  us  to  get  to  our 
original  destination  about  two  weeks.  We  started 


84  Visit  Apolima. 

early  in  the  morning,  about  seven  o'clock,  and 
went  say  a  mile  or  so,  and  when  the  young  men 
would  get  tired  of  paddling  we  would  go  ashore 
and  stop  wherever  we  happened  to  be,  maybe  a 
day  or  two.  It  made  no  difference  where  we  were, 
as  the  people  would  entertain  us  splendidly;  and 
so  we  went  on  for  a  day  or  two  here  and  a  day  or 
two  there,  until  we  reached  Savaii,  having  a  good 
time  all  the  way  along  and  all  the  way  back. 
During  this  trip  I  visited  the  Island  of  Apolima, 
little  imagining  then  that  it  was  to  be  the  scene  of 
a  most  interesting  adventure  of  him  who  was 
afterwards  to  be  my  husband. 

BUSINESS    WITH    PLEASURE. 

I  wish  also  to  say  that  there  was  another  object 
in  this  picnic  besides  the  mere  pleasure  of  the 
same.  My  cousin  had  married  a  Savaii  girl,  and 
this  was  a  sort  of  family  visit  upon  our  part  to  her 
relations,  and  according  to  the  display  made  by 
us,  and  the  manner  in  which  we  conducted  our- 
selves, and  the  eloquence  with  which  we  expressed 
our  kind  feelings  to  the  Savaii  people,  would  be 
the  tangible  presentation  to  our  family  of  pigs  and 
chickens  and  tapas,  and  above  all,  mats,  which  it 
must  be  remembered,  occupy  the  same  position  in 
the  Samoan  wealth,  that  jewels  and  diamonds  do 
in  civilized  countries;  and  therefore,  it  was  posi- 
tively necessary  that  I,  the  daughter  of  the  Tulafale, 
should  be  present  not  only  as  being  the  direct  de- 
scendant of  the  chief,  but  as  I  was  also  noted  for 


Hiding  a  Picture.  85 

i/ 

being  what  is  termed  a  "  talking  woman,"  and  a 
Tulafale  myself. 

Xow,  Mr.  Willis  did  not  understand  all  this,  nor 
the  custom  of  our  people,  and  when  he  heard  that 
I  was  going  on  this  Malaga,  and  was  going  to  be 
away  a  month  or  more,  he  did  not  like  it  at  all, 
and  endeavored  to  stop  me  from  going,  but  I  ex- 
plained to  him  that  it  was  necessary,  and  I  must 
go,  but  he  did  not  like  it  for  all  that;  he  was  afraid 
I  would  see  somebody  I  liked  better  than  I  did 
him,  and  he  gave  me  a  picture  of  himself  to  carry 
with  me  so  I  would  not  forget  him. 

I  was  glad  to  get  the  picture,  but  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do  with  it;  I  hid  it  in  the  folds  of 
my  clothing  and  whenever  I  thought  no  one  was 
looking,  I  would  take  a  peep  at  it ;  there  wrere  only 
two  girls  of  rank  in  the  party,  my  cousin  and  my- 
self, and  the  entire  assemblage  paid  us  the  utmost 
courtesy,  consulting  our  wishes  and  desires  in  the 
slightest  particular,  just  the  same  as  if  the  Queen 
of  England  and  the  Princess  of  Wales  should  go 
on  a  journey  with  a  large  retinue. 

My  cousin  saw  from  my  actions  that  I  had  some- 
thing hidden  and  asked  me  what  it  was,  and  I  told 
her  that  "I  did  not  have  anything  hid."  But  she 
saw  me,  when  I  was  on  shore,  going  in  the  bushes, 
taking  something  and  looking  at  it,  and  she  kept 
watch  until  she  found  out  what  it  was — that  it 
was  a  picture  of  Mr.  Willis;  then  I  showed  it  to 
her,  and  told  her  all  about  it,  and  that  she  must 


86  Reception  at  Savaii.  • 

not  tell  my  brother  or  anybody  else,  and  if  she 
would  keep  my  secret  if  I  found  anything  out 
about  her  I  would  not  tell  it  either. 

As  stated,  this  was  a  visit  to  my  cousin's  wife's 
relations  at  Savaii;  his  wife  had  gone  in  advance 
to  prepare  her  people  for  our  coming ;  it  was  known 
about  the  time  that  we  would  arrive,  having  started 
some  two  weeks  previously  and  stopping  all  along 
the  line  at  various  towns.  By  the  time  we  reached 
Savaii  everything  was  in  readiness  for  our  recep- 
tion. Boats  and  runners  had  informed  them  of 
our  coming,  and  when  our  party  arrived  the  whole 
town  was  ready  for  us,  houses  decorated,  food  be- 
ing prepared,  and  every  luxury  that  could  be  gath- 
ered was  in  waiting  for  us,  and  with  all  the  cere- 
monies peculiar  to  the  country  we  were  made 
welcome  the  moment  that  our  boats  touched  the 
shore. 

When  a  Samoan  woman  marries,  her  desires,  of 
course,  are  that  her  husband's  name  and  family 
shall  be  as  prominent  as  possible,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  mats  particularly,  is  a  leading  factor  in 
raising  one  to  position;  and  the  woman  who  can 
bring  to  her  husband  the  most  mats,  or  whose  fam- 
ily will  present  her  husband  with  most  gifts,  ob- 
tains a  reputation  and  influence  and  position 
according  to  the  amount  of  mats  which  she  con- 
trols, or  rather  which  are  presented  to  her  family 
through  her  influence. 


A  Samoan  Free  LuncJi  87 

THE    TAFOLO. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  Savaii,  what  is  termed 
'  Tafolo,"  was  offered  us.  This  Tafolo  is  a  peculiar 
preparation,  and  is  distributed  in  the  manner,  to 
use  a  common  expression,  of  a  free  lunch.  When 
it  is  ready  it  is  put  in  large  wooden  bowls,  and  a 
man  takes  one  of  these  in  his  hands  and  gives  a 
cry  something  like  "  Woo-hoo-hoo,"  in  a  peculiar 
tone  of  voice,  which  can  be  heard  a  long  way ;  par- 
ties hearing  this  sound  know  that  the  Tafolo  is 
ready  and  they  in  turn  take  up  the  cry  and  rush 
to  where  it  is.  There  is  acocoanut  shell  in  the  dish 
with  the  Tafolo  and  they  take  a  shell  full  of  this 
and  empty  it  into  a  banana  leaf  in  their  hands,  one 
after  another  until  the  supply  is  exhausted . 

After  our  party  was  served  with  the  Tafolo,  we 
were  all  invited  to  bathe,  arid  then  go  to  the  houses 
that  had  been  set  apart  for  us,  and  during  our  stay 
everything  was  done  to  make  our  visit  pleasant 
and  agreeable. 

The  number  of  presents  that  were  received  from 
the  Savaii  people  were  large  and  valuable,  and  my 
cousin's  wife  accordingly  was  raised  in  the  estima- 
tion of  us  all,  in  consequence  of  these  gifts  and 
presents  and  she  returned  with  us  to  Apia. 

When  the  Malaga  returned  to  Apia,  Mr.  Willis 
was  waiting  for  us  on  the  beach ;  he  was  very  much 
taken  with  the  Ti-ti  I  had  on  (Ti-ti  means  a  dress 
or  skirt  made  of  leaves  reaching  from  the  waist  to 
about  the  knees)  and  I  gave  it  to  him,  and  he  has 


88  Marriage  to  Mr.  Willis. 

it  to  this  day.  I  was  pleased  to  find  that  during 
my  absence  Mr.  Willis  had  acquired  the  Samoan 
language  very  rapidly,  and  could  talk  to  me  in  my 
native  tongue  very  well.  The  reason  of  this  was 
that  he  had  employed  a  half-caste  named  Henry 
Fruean,  who  was  a  distant  relation  of  mine,  and 
who  had  told  him  all  about  this  Tahiti  woman,  and 
advised  him  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  her,  and  that 
he,  Henry,  would  act  as  a  mutual  friend  for  us  and 
fix  it  all  right  with  me  if  Mr.  Willis  would  give  him 
some  of  the  American  carpentering  tools  which 
he  was  very  anxious  to  obtain,  and  to  this  Mr. 
Willis  agreed. 

Mr.  Willis  and  my  father,  during  our  absence, 
had  many  conversations  in  reference  to  me  arid  had 
become  good  friends.  My  father  said  if  Mr.  Willis 
wrould  marry  me  before  the  English  consul  he  could 
have  me,  which  was  agreed  to. 

My  father  being  a  deacon  of  the  church,  was 
anxious  that  Mr.  Willis  should  also  join  the 
church;  but  Mr.  Willis  declined  to  do  so,  but  said 
that  he  had  promised  his  mother  that  he  would  go 
to  church  every  Sunday,  and  he  intended  to  keep 
his  word,  but  he  did  not  feel  just  right  to  become 
a  member  of  the  church  at  that  time. 

My  father  desired  that  I  should  get  back  my 
position  and  standing  in  the  church,  which  would 
be  granted  to  me,  by  being  legally  married  as  be- 
fore alluded  to. 

These  matters  having  been  agreed  to  all  round, 
we  were  married  before  the  English  consul. 


Fac-simile  of  Certificate. 


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90  Story  of  a  Pig. 

MAKING    FIRE. 

There  is  no  trouble  to  a  Samoan  at  any  time  to 
procure  fire;  he  has  but  to  get  a  dry  piece  of  the 
wood  of  the  Fuafua  tree  about  two  inches  in  di- 
ameter, and  some  longer  than  it  is  wide.  In  this 
a  groove  is  made,  and  then  a  small  piece  of  another 
wood  is  grasped  tightly  in  the  hand  and  rubbed 
quickly  up  and  down  this  groove  for  a  few  minutes 
and  the  fire  comes,  and  is  caught  on  some  woody 
fiber  which  acts  as  a  natural  tinder. 

FLIES. 

When  the  bread-fruit  season  comes,  the  flies 
(lago)  are  thick  in  every  house  and  the  natives  do 
little  besides  beating  out  flies,  which,  however, 
they  never  kill;  if  a  person  should  kill  a  fly,  in- 
tentionally, he  would  get  a  very  bad  name;  and  be 
called  "Polaga"  (fly-killer). 

QUEER    HOUSEKEEPING OUR  PIG. 

After  we  were  married  we  started  housekeep- 
ing. My  brother  gave  me  a  little  pet  pig  (a  New 
Zealand  pig).  We  had  only  one  room,  and  I  did 
not  know  much  what  to  do  for  housekeeping  for 
white  people,  so  I  took  my  niece,  Lolo,  to  help  me. 
Mr.  Willis  told  us  that  when  we  heard  the  bell 
ring  we  must  prepare  for  dinner;  we  said  "All 
right,"  and  he  went  away  to  work. 

My  niece  went  and  fed  the  pig  and  washed  it 
•and  brought  it  to  me,  and  I  wiped  it  dry  with  a 
towel;  then  we  put  it  to  sleep;  then  my  niece  and 


Dinner.  91 

I  went  to  bathe,  and  also  gathered  some  gum  from 
the  bread-fruit  tree,  which  we  chew  and  make  a 
smacking  or  popping  noise  with  it  in  our  mouths. 
On  our  way  home  we  heard  the  bell  ring,  and  we 
rushed  in  and  got  dry  clothes,  and  Mr.  Willis  came 
in  and  asked  us  if  dinner  is  ready.  We  say: 

"No;  but,  Lolo,  you  run  and  boil  the  water  and 
I  will  get  him  a  cup  of  tea." 

Mr.  Willis  came  in  and  scratched  his  head  and 
said: 

"  Where  have  you  been?" 

I  told  him  we  had  been  to  bathe. 

"  Well,  did  you  hear  the  bell  ring  ?" 

"Yes,  we  heard  it  when  we  were  coming  back." 

"Well,  what  did  I  tell  you?  didn't  I  tell  you  to 
watch  when  the  bell  rang  to  have  dinner  ready?" 

I  said:  "Yes,  but  we  didn't  see  the  clock,  be- 
cause we  had  been  out  in  the  bush." 

He  was  a  little  cross,  and  we  rushed  and  got  a 
little  to  eat — some  bread,  butter  and  fruits;  so  he 
went  to  his  work  and  told  us: 

"Now,  when  the  bell  rings  at  five  o'clock  get 
supper  ready  so  I  can  come  in,  and  we  will  have 
our  supper." 

I  said:  "All  right." 

ABOUT  "THAT  PIG." 

We  were  just  through  our  own  dinner  when  he 
went  away;  my  niece  went  out  to  feed  our  pig, 
and  the  little  pig — what  did  she  do  but  jump  over 
the  box  and  run  away ;  so  I  told  my  niece  to  stay 


92  No  Supper. 

and  look  out  for  the  house  while  I  went  to  catch 
the  pig. 

I  ran  down  and  the  pig  made  a  straight  line  in 
the  main  road ;  I  called  him  by  name  but  he  never 
paid  any  attention  but  ran  right  up  to  the  English 
consul's  house  and  went  under  it,  and  I  went  under 
too.  The  servant  boy  of  the  English  consul  went 
and  told  him  that  the  carpenter's  wife  was  under 
his  house,  and  the  consul  came  out  and  said 
"Where?" 

And  the  servant  said,  "There,  there  she  is." 

The  pig  had  run  under  the  floor  and  the  consul 
said:  "Come  out,  Mrs.  Willis,  and  let  the  boy  pull 
out  the  pig  for  you.". 

While  this  was  going  on,  one  of  the  black  boys 
who  worked  for  Mr.  Willis  passed  our  house,  and 
my  niece  told  him  if  he  saw  Mr.  Willis  to  tell  him 
that  our  pig  had  run  away;  the  boy  did  so,  and 
Mr.  Willis  sent  down  live  colored  boys  to  catch 
the  pig. 

I  would  not  come  out,  and  when  the  boys  came 
down  the  pig  got  out  from  under  the  house  and 
ran  into  the  bush,  and  I  ran  after  him ;  the  Consul 
called  to  me  to  come  back  and  let  the  boys  catch 
him.  The  boys  went  after  it  and  it  was  a  terrible 
naughty  thing,  but  bye  and  bye  the  boys  caught 
him  and  brought  him  to  me  and  when  I  came  home 
Mr.  Willis  was  standing  at  the  gate ;  he  had  come 
home  for  supper  and  there  was  no  supper. 


A  Costly  Stove.  93 

My  people  had  told  me  that  they  would  send  me 
down  some  food;  so  in  the  evening  three  young 
men,  my  cousins,  came  down  with  the  food  put  up 
in  a  basket  by  my  mother,  and  called  me  and  Lolo 
and  said: 

"Take  this  food  and  when  you  cook  white  man's 
food  for  Mr.  Willis,  you  can  eat  this  for  yourselves." 

They  were  just  leaving  the  house  when  Mr.  Wil- 
lis came  in  and  he  asked  who  were  these  young 
men  who  had  just  gone  out.  I  said  they  were  my 
relations;  and  he  got  mad  and  jumped  out  and 
chased  them. 

This  ended  my  first  day's  experience  as  house- 
keeper. 

We  lived  on  then  sometime  in  this  one  room, 
until  Mr.  Willis  bought  a  house  and  built  an  Amer- 
ican shingle  roof  over  it,  and  then  removed  the  old 
thatched  roof  from  beneath,  which  we  thought 
wonderful.  Here  we  had  a  big  yard  and  I  raised 
lots  of  chickens  and  kept  this  pig. 

Mr.  Willis  bought  a  stove,  which  with  its  pots, 
kettles,  etc.,  cost  $135  in  gold;  then  he  began  to 
teach  us  to  cook.  We  made  some  little  plain  cakes, 
and  Mr.  Willis  came  one  Sunday  and  said: 

LESSONS    IN    COOKING. 

u  Now  you  and  Lolo  come  here  and  I  will  show 
you  how  American  women  cook." 

I  said:  "All  right;  but  we  don't  like  to  work 
on  Sunday." 

He  said:  "  Yes,  any  way  you  come   and  look  on; 


94  Fancy  Cooking. 

when  you  marry  you  must  do  everything  the  hus- 
band tells  you." 

"It  is  no  use,  if  we  make  anything  now,  every- 
thing goes  wrong,  for  it  is  Sunday." 

"  Well  now,  if  you  don't  come  I  will  make  every- 
thing myself." 

I  would  not  go,  so  my  niece  and  myself  went  to 
church  and  when  we  came  back  the  oven  was  so 
hot,  and  he  told  my  neice  to  come  and  look  out  for 
the  cake;  so  she  went  in  to  watch  the  cake  and 
saw  smoke  coming  out,  and  called  to  me  to  come 
and  see  what  was  the  matter,  that  there  was  a  fire 
in  the  oven. 

I  said:  "Well,  you  ask  Mr.  Willis,  I  don't  know 
anything  about  his  cake." 

He  said:  "Open  the  oven,  the  cake  is  cooking!" 

When  she  opened  the  oven  the  smoke  rolled  out. 
The  solder  had  melted  on  the  tin  the  cake  had 
been  in  and  the  cake  itself  filled  every  part  of  the 
oven. 

Mr.  Willis  was  cross  and  he  came  out  and  said 
she  did  not  look  out  for  the  cake ;  we  said  it  was 
not  our  fault,  but  that  he  could  not  expect  it  to  be 
right  if  he  did  it  on  Sunday,  if  it  were  not  for  Sun- 
day it  would  be  all  right.  • 

At  the  same  time  he  told  us  to  look  out  for  the 
apples;  he  had  filled  a  big  iron  pot  with  dried 
apples,  and,  putting  a  little  water  in  it,  had  placed 
it  on  top  of  the  stove. 

Well,  my  niece  and  I  went  in  and  watched  the 


Apples  Will  Swell.  95 

apples  while  he  went  into  the  parlor  to  see  a  man 
who  had  called.  The  apples  began  to  swell  (we 
didn't  know  that  apples  swelled  like  this) ;  so  I 
told  my  niece  to  run  and  tell  Mr.  Willis ;  so  she 
ran  in,  and  soon  Mr.  Willis  came  in  and  said: 

A    SURPLUS   OF    APPLES. 

"Oh,  this  is  all  right;  the  apples  are  going  to 
cook;  this  is  the  way  they  do  in  'Frisco.  Get  a 
cup  or  spoon,  or  something,  and  dip  some  of  them 
into  another  pot;"  and  we  did  so,  but  the  apples 
kept  swelling,  and  we  kept  taking  them  out  and  fill- 
ing other  kettles  and  pans  with  them,  until  we  had 
everything  in  the  house  full  of  apples,  and  I  said: 

"  My  goodness  me  !  I  think  you  put  too  much 
in." 

"No,  this  is  the  way  they  do  in  'Frisco;  what  do 
you  know  about  it?" 

I  thought  he  had  too  much;  I  didn't  think  ap- 
ples raised  up  so;  we  got  all  the  apples  out.  and 
they  were  still  hard  and  not  cooked ;  so  Mr.  Willis 
brought  his  friend  and  told  him: 

"My  wife  is  cooking  some  apples  in  the  kitch- 


en. 
n 


I  didn't  cook;  it  was  him." 
Then  he  told  his  friend  that  he  would  make  a 
pie ;  so  he  got  everything  there  was  in  the  kitchen 
—butter,  lard,  etc.,  and  he  made  and  made,  and 
he  could  not  make  the  pie,  and  the  dough  stuck 
to  his  hands,  and  he  threw  it  out  to  the  pig,  and 
the  pig  ate  it,  too.     I  was  afraid  the  pig  would  get 


96  Dress-making. 

sick;  it  was  heavy,  and  would  lay  heavy  on  the 
pig's  stomach  (but  it  was  a  good  pig). 

Mr.  Willis  got  the  cook  of  the  American  vessel 
to  come  up  to  the  house  and  teach  me  how  to 
cook  as  he  was  not  much  of  a  success  himself  as  a 
teacher. 

Mr.  Willis  sent  to  New  Zealand  for  a  Singer 
sewing  machine  and  I  went  to  work  sewing.  I 
made  some  little  things  with  calico  which  was 
brought  in  by  the  ships,  made  dresses  something 
like  short  Mother-Hubbards  and  other  little  things 
of  that  kind  which  were  novelties  in  that  country. 
I  made  all  my  own  clothes  nnd  the  people  outside, 
seeing  my  nieces'  dresses,  brought  me  cloth  to 
make  their  clothes  too ;  so  I  got  quite  a  reputation 
as  a  dressmaker. 

The  house-keeper,  Mrs.  Guppy,  of  the  German 
company  sent  me  all  her  sewing  to  do ;  but  think- 
ing I  charged  her  too  much,  at  last  got  a  machine 
and  sent  a  little  black  boy  with  it  up  to  me  to 
have  me  teach  him  how  to  run  it. 

The  people  at  the  stores  heard  that  I  was  teach- 
ing how  to  run  the  machine,  and  they  offered  me 
a  commission  if  I  would  teach  some  of  the  natives 
and  get  them  to  buy  machines. 

I  learned  all  about  the  machine  myself,  by 
taking  it  apart  and  putting  it  together  again. 

I  was  very  anxious  to  learn  good  as  I  told  Mr. 
Willis  I  wanted  to  be  a  dressmaker  when  we  came 
to  America. 


Efforts  at  Courting.  97 

DANIEL  JENNINGS. 

While  my  niece,  my  younger  sister,  and  myself, 
were  busy  sewing  one  morning,  a  young  half-caste 
named  Daniel  Jennings  walked  in;  he  tied  his 
horse  in  front  of  the  house  and  came  in  and  said 
"Good  morning,  Laulii." 

I  said,  "Good  morning." 

He  looked  in  the  other  room  where  my  sister 
and  niece  were  and  said: 

II  Oh,  my,  who  are  those  girls  ?" 

I  told  him  they  were  Tafi  and  Lolo;  he  then 
asked  if  they  were  young  girls;  I  told  him  they 
were. 

The  girls  now  called  Mr.  Willis  in  to  breakfast 
and  he,  seeing  Daniel  there,  asked  him  to  come  and 
eat  with  us. 

He  began  making  love  to  the  girls  right  away; 
the  girls  made  fun  of  him,  and  he  said  to  me: 

"  Laulii,  let  me  marry  your  niece." 

I  replied  that  it  should  be  as  Lolo  wanted,  her- 
self. 

When  he  was  through  with  his  meal,  he  put  his 
hand  into  his  pocket  and  asked  me  how  much  I 
charged  for  the  meal;  I  referred  him  to  my  hus- 
band, as  I  did  not  know  anything  about  such 
things.  Mr.  Willis  would  not  accept  anything 
and  Daniel  was  very  grateful,  and  somewhat  sur- 
prised at  such  generosity. 

He  continued  to  make  love  with  the  girls  and 
asked  each  of  them  in  a  joking  way  to  marry  him, 
but  they  refused. 


98  Daniel  Jennings. 

(This  Daniel  Jennings  was  a  son  of  Eli  Jennings 
who  was  a  man  of  remarkable  genius.  Some  forty 
years  ago  he  managed  to  get  hold  of  Toelau  island,  one 
of  the  Quiros  group,  a  short  distance  from  Samoa. 
This  was  a  coral  island,  unproductive  by  reason  of 
having  no  soil ;  but  this  man  Jennings  carried  soil 
from  Samoa  to  the  island  to  start  his  garden,  and 
year  by  year  the  decaying  vegetation  and  debris  of 
the  cocoanut  and  other  plants,  has  added  to  the 
soil  until  now  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  pos- 
sessions in  that  country.) 

When  our  house-work  was  done,  we  went  into 
the  sewing  room  which  had  a  window,  opening  in 
front,  and  while  one  of  the  girls  basted  and  the 
other  ran  the  machine,  I  cut  out  the  cloth ;  Daniel 
was  outside  on  the  veranda  and  seeing  us  there, 
came  in  through  the  window,  and  with  his  head 
resting  on  the  table  and  his  feet  out  the  window, 
he  again  pressed  his  suit  with  the  girls,  but  with 
no  better  success  than  before. 

When  he  went  home,  he  asked  an  old  half-caste 
woman  with  whom  he  was  stopping  why  it  was 
that  the  girls  did  not  like  him.  She  laughed  and 
told  him  that  it  was  not  the  custom  to  speak  to 
girls  in  that  way,  that  he  must  get  some  one  else  to 
speak  for  him ;  he  suggested  that  she  do  the  talk- 
ing. So  the  old  woman  came  up  and  brought  us 
some  fruit,  and  while  I  was  out  of  the  room  talked 
to  the  girls ;  when  I  came  back  I  asked  them  what 
they  were  laughing  at  and  they  told  me  something 


My  Mother's  Counsel  99 

else,  wouldn't  say  that  the  old  woman  had  been 
trying  to  make  a  match  for  them. 

The  old  woman  worked  this  way  all  the  time 
and  Daniel,  contrary  to  her  wishes,  would  come  up 
every  day  or  two,  as  he  could  not  thoroughly  un- 
derstand our  customs.  When  we  were  preparing 
to  come  to  San  Francisco,  Daniel  came  to  us  and 
asked  us  if  he  could  not  marry  my  niece ;  I  told  him 
that  if  my  niece  wished  it  so,  he  could  have  her. 
I  had  previously  warned  my  sister  and  niece  not 
to  marry  him  and  thought  that  would  be  the  last 
of  it,  but  almost  the  first  news  we  received  after 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  was  that  both  the  girls 
were  married. 

When  my  people  heard  of  our  intention  to  come 
to  America  they  did  not  like  it  at  all,  but  wanted 
me  to  persuade  Mr.  Willis  to  leave  me  behind,  and 
when  he  was  through  with  his  work  in  San  Francisco 
to  come  back  and  live  there.  I  told  my  husband  this 
but  he  would  not  agree  to  it.  My  people  did  not 
want  me  to  go,  but  my  mother  said  yes  I  must  go, 
"for  it  says  in  the  Bible  that  when  you  marry  you 
must  go  wherever  your  husband  goes;"  but  she 
would  rather  Mr.  Willis  would  stay  in  Samoa. 

Finally  they  became  convinced  that  we  were  in- 
deed going  and  they  crowded  around  and  brought 
us  presents  until  we  had  an  immense  lot ;  but  the 
most  precious  of  all  was  a  mat,  from  my  brother, 
which  at  one  time  belonged  to  King  Maleitoa,  and 
was  called  Patosina  (white  duck)  and  was  of  great 
historical  and  other  value. 


100  A  War  Incident. 

THE    PATOSINA   MAT. 

My  brother  was  captain  of  the  Saraoan  man-of- 
war.  They  never  allow  women  to  cross  on  the 
vessel  during  war,  as  they  consider  it  unlucky. 
This  Patosina  (white  duck,  because  she  was  so 
light,)  was  the  dearest  sister  of  King  Maleitoa, 
and  wanted  to  come  from  Savaii,  near  which  the 
man-of-war  was  stationed,  to  Upolu,  to  see  her 
brother,  the  King.  She  asked  my  brother  to 
take  her  across,  and  he  said  he  would  do  his  best 
for  her;  so  they  had  a  meeting  of  Tulafales  and 
Chiefs  to  decide  whether  they  would  make  an  ex- 
ception to  the  old  rule  in  this  case;  they  all 
opposed  it,  but  my  brother  told  Patosina  to  get 
ready  and  he  would  take  her  to  her  brother.  She 
got  ready,  and  the  people  all  asked  her  where  she 
was  going ;  she  told  them  that  the  captain  said  she 
might  go,  and  she  was  going.  They  begged  her 
not  to  go  as  they  were  fighting,  and  it  would  bring 
bad  luck;  but  she  went. 

The  people  expostulated  with  Tui  (abbreviation 
for  Tuietufuga),  but  he  said  he  could  run  down  to 
Apia  in  a  day,  and  it  was  nobody's  business  but 
his  own  if  he  did  so. 

While  Maleitoa  was  very  grateful  to  my  brother 
for  bringing  his  sister,  the  government  took  ex- 
ception to  it  and  expressed  a  great  deal  of  dissat- 
isfaction, which  offended  Tui,  and  he  offered  to 
resign  his  position,  but  was  persuaded  by  the  King 
and  his  people  to  retain  it ;  and  as  a  mark  of  amity 


Leaving  Home.  101 

and  to  designate  the  event,  this  mat  (Patosina) 
was  given  to  him,  and  this  was  the  mat  he  gave  to 
us. 

OUR  PEOPLE'S  GOOD  BYE. 

When  our  boat  was  going  to  pull  out,  our  people 
were  all  gathered  on  the  beach,  to  see  us  off;  they 
cried  and  cried  and  pulled  our  boat  back  on  the 
beach  three  times,  but  finally,  they  gave  us  their 
blessing  and  we  went  to  the  ship. 

Everything  appeared  strange  to  me  as  I  had 
never  been  on  a  large  ship  before ;  I  was  seasick  a 
little  on  the  voyage,  but  I  knew  quite  a  number  on 
the  vessel  and  got  on  first-rate  on  the  trip.  Of 
course,  the  elegant  buildings  in  Fiji  seemed  very 
strange  to  me,  but  I  was  immediately  surrounded 
on  my  arrival  by  some  Samoans  who  lived  here,  and 
who  took  me  right  up  to  there  house.  I  staid  with 
them  as  long  as  I  was  on  the  island,  and  they 
showed  me  every  thing  that  was  there.  It  seemed 
as  if  they  could  not  do  too  much  for  me ;  when 
they  heard  I  was  going  to  America,  they  cried  just 
the  same  as  if  I  was  one  of  their  own  family.  They 
gave  Mr.  Willis  and  I  and  the  other  passengers  a 
splendid  dinner,  and  in  every  manner  showed  kind- 
liest interest  in  us. 

LEAVING  FIJI  (FEGEE). 

When  we  left  Fiji  the  Samoans  came  down  to 
the  wharf  to  see  us  off.  I  thought  that  at  Fiji  I 
had  seen  the  last  Samoan  I  would  ever  meet.  We 
went  down  stairs  and  we  could  not  get  any  room, 


102  A  Brother  Odd  Fellow. 

so  I  had  to  take  a  bunk  in  the  ladies  cabin.  I  was 
seasick  right  off  and  lay  down  and  went  to  sleep, 
and  did  riot  hear  anything  until  Mr.  Willis  came  in 
with  some  chicken. 

There  was  a  woman  in  the  cabin  with  four  small 
children;  she  was  seasick  and  the  children  kept 
crying  all  the  time.  I  felt  sorry  for  the  poor 
woman  and  tried  to  help  her  all  I  could,  but  the 
children  were  afraid  of  me;  so  most  of  the  care 
devolved  upon  the  woman's  husband. 

Mr.  Willis  came  to  me  and  said  that  the  captain 
was  his  brother  (he  meant  an  Odd  Fellow) ;  I 
thought  it  was  his  true  brother  and  kept  watching 
Mr.  Willis  and  the  captain  to  see  if  I  could  discover 
any  resemblance. 

Mr.  Willis  tried  to  explain  to  me,  but  I  could  not 
understand  at  all,  and  still  kept  watching  to  see 
the  family  resemblance. 

The  captain  was  very  kind  to  me,  gave  us  his 
state  room  and  gave  me  oranges,  pine-apples,  and 
other  fruits  and  made  me  sit  beside  him  at  the 
table,  and  in  every  way  made  our  voyage  very 
agreeable. 

NEW    ZEALAND. 

When  we  reached  New  Zealand  I  asked  Mr. Willis 
where  we  were  going  to  stop.  He  said  that  would  be 
all  right,  that  he  would  fix  that.  I  kept  saying:  "  Oh 
dear!  I  hope  when  we  get  to  Auckland,  I  will  find 
some  Samoans  there;"  but  he  said,  u  Oh,  no;  there 
are  no  Samoans  at  all  in  Auckland."  I  felt  very 


At  Auckland.  103 

bad  and  wanted  to  know  where  we  would  go.  My 
husband  said  we  would  stay  at  a  hotel,  but  the 
captain  would  not  allow  this,  but  said  that  we  must 
go  to  his  sister's.  So  we  were  preparing  to  go  on 
land,  which  we  expected  to  reach  very  soon,  when 
a  big  storm  came.  I  thought  we  were  all  lost  and 
shut  my  eyes  and  cried,  and  1  thought  I  could  see 
the  faces  of  all  my  people.  Mr.  Willis  ran  around 
on  deck  all  the  time  and  I  told  him  if  anything 
happened,  to  call  me  as  I  could  swim,  and  would 
help  him  (if  he  would  take  a  life  preserver).  But 
I  was  afraid  of  the  sharks,  for  Mr.  Willis  had  told 
me  they  were  not  like  Samoan  sharks,  but  would 
eat  a  person  if  they  caught  him  in  the  water;  I 
thought  we  could  manage  to  keep  our  bodies  out  of 
the  way,  but  when  we  were  swimming  they  might 
catch  our  feet. 

Everybody  was  crying.  When  morning  came, 
we  saw  land,  but  we  were  going  away  from  it,  and 
everything  was  so  bad;  but  finally  we  got  to  the 
wharf  and  the  people  were  so  glad  and  rushed  on 
shore  and  got  into  big  carriages  and  went  to  the 
hotel.  Mr.  Willis  went  to  buy  some  things,  and  I 
waited  for  him  on  the  steamer;  but  when  every- 
body was  gone  I  began  to  get  lonesome  and  cried; 
it  seemed  so  long  before  he  got  back  that  I  thought 
my  husband  had  run  away  and  would  never  come 
back.  I  looked  around  arid  thought,  "  nobody 
cares  for  me,"  and  wondered  if  the  vessel  would 
go  back  to  Samoa;  I  hoped  it  would  and  then  I 
could  work  my  way  back  to  my  home. 


104  Kind  Captain  Pennell. 

Mr.  Willis  finally  came  back  and  asked  me  if  the 
captain  had  returned;  I  said  he  had  not;  he  then 
asked  me  what  I  had  been  crying  for,  and  I  told 
him  that  I  thought  he  had  run  away  and  I  was 
alone  and  all  the  sailors  were  looking  at  me.  He 
told  me  I  must  not  think  that  way  about  him,  that 
he  would  have  been  back  sooner,  but  although  it 
was  eight  o'clock,  all  the  stores  were  shut  up  and 
he  could  not  even  get  shaved. 

A  CARRIAGE. 

Pretty  soon  the  carriage  came  down  for  us  and 
I  was  glad,  because  the  sailors  would  see  that  I 
had  been  waiting  for  somebody.  I  thought  they 
had  been  laughing  and  making  fun  of  me,  and  that 
made  me  feel  worse.  We  got  into  the  carriage 
and  it  rolled  and  rolled. 

CAPT.  PENNELL' s  SISTER. 

We  went  out  in  the  country  a  mile  or  two  from 
town,  and  there  we  went  in  a  very  nice  little  cot- 
tage, and  I  was  so  delighted  !  Captain  Pennell' s 
sister  (Mrs.  Marler)  was  waiting  for  us,  and  had 
such  a  kind  face,  and  was  so  pleasant,  that  I  felt 
at  home  once  more.  Mrs.  Marler  showed  me  my 
room,  which  was  very  neat,  and  the  furniture  and 
everything  was  so  different  from  what  I  had  ever 
seen.  There  was  a  fire  burning  in  the  room;  I 
never  saw  a  fire  in  a  room  before,  and  asked 
Mr.  Willis  what  the  fire  was  for.  He  said  to  keep 
the  room  warm.  I  wanted  to  know  what  became 


Mr.  Hay,  of  the  Times.  105 

of  the  smoke,  and  he  explained  to  me  about  the 
chimney,  and  said  when  we  got  to  America  he 
would  have  fires  like  that  in  our  house. 

Pretty  soon  we  were  called  in  to  lunch.  I  was 
very  hungry;  I  said: 

"  Oh,  dear,  what  do  the  white  people  eat  here." 

NOT    USED   TO    MEAT. 

Mr.  Willis  said  they  ate  the  same  food  as  in 
Samoa,  but  did  not  have  taro,  yams,  and  things 
like  that ;  but  they  had  potatoes,  and  I  liked  them ; 
then  Mrs.  Marler  had  one  big  loaf  of  bread  on  the 
table,  and  when  we  wanted  a  piece  we  each  helped 
ourself ,  which  I  thought  very  funny.  I  could  not 
eat  the  meat  very  well,  but  liked  the  potatoes.  I 
was  very  much  attracted  by  what  they  called  gela- 
tine on  the  table,  which  was  of  various  shapes  and 
colors,  and  so  transparent  that  you  could  see 
through  it ;  it  was  shaking  and  trembling  as  if  it 
were  going  to  fall  to  pieces  all  the  time,  but  it 
did  not.  I  learned  how  it  was  made  and  am  very 
fond  of  it  and  make  it  frequently  now. 

(Among  the  passengers  on  the  steamer  from  Fiji 
to  Auckland  was  a  Mr.  Hay,  a  compositor  on  the 
i;Samoan  Times,"  which  paper,  owing  to  the  death 
of  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Ager,  and  the  opposition  of 
the  German  people,  had  been  compelled  to  suspend 
publication.) 

After  dinner  Mr.  Willis  went  out  to  look  around 
the  place  while  I  staid  at  home  with  Mrs.  Marler, 


106  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

who  tried  to  tell  me  all  about  Auckland;  after 
awhile  this  Mr.  Hay  with  his  two  sisters  came 
in  to  see  me.  He  could  speak  Samoan  and  was  ac- 
quainted with  me  and  my  family  before  we  left 
Samoa.  I  was  delighted  to  see  him  and  was  very 
much  indebted  to  Mrs.  Marler,  and  his  two  bisters, 
for  a  great  deal  of  education  in  the  English  lan- 
guage during  my  stay  there. 

A  VISIT. 

They  invited  me  and  my  husband  to  come  to 
their  home  that  evening  after  supper.  Mr.  Hay's 
sisters  were  very  glad  to  meet  me  and  were 
so  kind ;  so  when  Mr.  Willis  came  home  I  told  him 
that  they  had  been  to  see  me  and  asked  us  to  come 
to  their  home  that  evening. 

He  said:  "All  right." 

So  after  supper  we  went  to  the  house  and  were 
most  kindly  received.  The  house  was  full  of  peo- 
ple and  Mr.  Hays'  mother  took  me  around  and  in- 
troduced me  to  all,  and  was  as  kind  as  she  could 
be;  for  the  first  time  I  heard  a  family  party  of 
Scotch  sing  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  and  I  thought  it 
was  the  most  magnificent  music  I  ever  heard. 
This  they  sang  just  as  we  were  about  to  leave. 
They  wanted  me  to  sing  but  I  was  afraid  and 
ashamed  because  I  felt  alone  and  knewT  only  Sa- 
moan songs,  but  Mr.  Willis  told  me  to  sing  a  Sa- 
moan song.  I  said  I  could  not  sing  any  but  church 
songs,  as  that  was  Sunday;  they  said  to  sing  the 
church  song,  so  I  sang  one. 


Hear  an  Organ.  107 

AT    CHURCH. 

We  went  to  the  Episcopal  church  the  Sunday 
after  we  landed,  and  for  the  first  time  I  saw  the 
plate  passed  around,  and  asked  Mr.  Willis  what  it 
was  for;  he  said  that  in  white  people's  churches 
they  always  passed  the  plate  around.  I  never  saw 
an  organ  before,  with  the  pipes  all  standing  up  like 
bamboos,  but  I  thought  the  music  was  grand. 

After  church,  Mrs.  Marler  introduced  me  to 
some  of  her  lady  friends,  then  we  went  home. 

During  our  stay  there,  about  nineteen  days,  Mrs. 
Marler  took  me  around  and  showed  me  everything, 
the  stores, 'the  buildings,  etc. 

On  one  or  two  occasions  while  we  were  in  Auck- 
land, we  were  stopped  in  the  street  by  native 
Maoris  who  tried  to  speak  to  me,  taking  me  for 
one  of  their  own  race,  and  thinking  I  was  an  un- 
married girl  from  the  fact  that  my  lower  lip  was 
not  tattoed,  which  is  always  done  there  as  soon  as 
a  girl  is  married.  While  I  could  not  fully  under- 
stand their  language,  I  could  catch  a  word  or  two 
here  and  there  sufficient  to  know  what  they  meant. 

While  we  were  in  New  Zealand,  my  kind  friends 
took  me  to  see  a  great  many  things  and  made  my 
visit  very  entertaining  and  interesting.  When  we 
got  on  board  of  the  steamer  there  were  lots  of  our 
friends  came  to  see  us  off  and  one  of  Hay's  sisters 
gave  me  a  locket  of  cowrie  gum  as  a  memento  of 
New  Zealand ;  we  bade  all  good-bye  and  went  on  a 
boat  to  the  steamer.  This  was  the  first  big  steamer 


108  Going  to  America. 

I  had  ever  been  in.  On  the  voyage  we  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Y.  C. 
Driffield  who  was  very  kind  to  us  and  with  whom 
we  became  good  friends,  and  have  been  ever  since. 

LAST  GLIMPSE  OF  SAMOA. 

I  was  in  my  berth  when  I  heard  Mr.  Willis  call, 
"Laulii,  come  up,  come  up  quick." 

I  thought  the  ship  was  going  down  and  I  rushed 
up  as  fast  as  I  could;  he  said  "Come  up,  come  up, 
and  see  Samoa;"  he  pointed  out  Tutuila  and  I  asked 
for  Upolu;  he  said  it  was  a  way  over  on  the  other 
side.  I  said  nothing  more  but  I  felt  Very  bad ;  I 
thought  I  would  never  see  home  again.  I  did  not 
know  where  I  was  going;  America  seemed  so  rich, 
where  people  went  and  filled  their  bags  with 
money — red  money  we  called  it  (gold),  and  when 
Mr.  Willis  said  to  come  to  America  I  thought  we 
had  to  travel  almost  half  our  lives  to  get  there. 
The  missionaries  used  to  show  us  the  different 
countries  on  maps,  but  I  thought  America  was  so 
far.  I  was  terrible  homesick  and  wanted  to  go 
home ;  but  we  kept  going  till  we  reached  Honolulu, 
and  went  right  away  to  the  Wahine  hotel. 

Then  Mr.  Driffield  asked  us  to  go  around  and  see 
the  town,  so  we  went  around  until  night  came, 
when  we  returned  to  the  hotel  where  the  native 
band  was  playing;  I  felt  more  at  home  here  for 
the  people  were  of  my  own  color,  and  they  all 
kept  saying: 


At  San  Francisco.  109 

"Wahine  hele  mai  hamoa;"  (this  girl  comes  from. 
Samoa) . 

We  went  on  board  again  and  the  voyage  was 
without  incident  except  the  weather  began  to  get 
colder  and  colder,  which  had  a  strangely  unpleas- 
ant effect  upon  us. 

IN   CALIFORNIA.. 

We  arrived  in  San  Francisco  at  twelve  o'clock 
at  night;  Mr.  Willis  had  been  telling  me  all  about 
how  good  his  American  friends  were  to  him  and  if 
I  would  come,  all  of  them  would  be  so  good  to  me. 

It  was  foggy  and  cold  when  we  came  in;  I 
wanted  to  take  some  clothes  with  me  but  Mr.  Wil- 
lis told  me  I  would  not  need  any  as  his  friends, 
where  we  wTere  going,  would  be  only  too  happy 
to  supply  us  with  everything.  We  walked  up 
from  the  dock  through  Second  street  and  passed 
up  Market  street  by  the  Palace  Hotel.  I  looked 
up  at  this  building  in  perfect  amazement;  it  seemed 
to  me  to  reach  to  heaven — rising  up  on  all  sides, 
and  me  walking  way  down  below. 

My  husband  said:  "Oh,  you  wait,  you  have  not 
seen  California  yet — wait  until  you  see  the  inside 
of  that  hotel."  We  walked  on  until  we  came  to 
his  friends'  on  Geary  street;  Mr.  Willis  was  so 
tickled — I  could  see  it  in  his  eyes. 

I  said;  "I  suppose  you  are  glad." 

He  said:  "Yes,  I  am  awful  glad  to  be  home 
again;  my  friends  will  be  very  glad  to  see  you," 


110  New  Friends. 

and  he  rang  the  bell;  the  gentleman  of  the  house 
came  down. 

Mr.  Willis  said;  "Hello,  Jim — I  have  come  back 
and  brought  some  one  with  me." 

"  Is  that  you  Alec  ?  and  he  shook  hands  and  was 
so  glad  to  see  my  husband  and  brought  us  in  and 
lit  the  gas  and  his  son  came  running  down  and 
they  seemed  so  glad  that  we  had  come;  I  thought 
how  true  it  was  that  Mr.  Willis'  friends  were  glad 
to  see  us.  The  men  talked  and  talked  and  pretty 
soon  a  lady  came  down  with  her  daughters. 

Mr.  Willis  said  to  the  lady,  "  Well,  well,  how  do 
you  do  ?  You  see  I  have  brought  some  one  home 
with  me  and  I  hope  you  and  Laulii  will  be  good 
friends." 

I  thought  that  the  ladies  looked  very  strangely 
at  me,  and  I,  being  very  sensitive,  supposed  that 
they  rather  looked  down  upon  me,  and  it  hurt  me 
very  much ;  but  probably  it  was  only  because  I  was 
dark  and  they  thought  it  strange  that  Mr.  Willis 
should  marry  me.  They  spoke  to  me  kindly,  how- 
ever, but  did  not  give  me  the  same  enthusiastic 
welcome  that  they  did  to  my  husband.  I  could 
understand  but  little  English,  but  I  could  tell  by 
people's  eyes  what  they  mean. 

We  soon  afterwards  were  shown  a  room,  and  as 
all  our  clothing  was  damp  from  the  fog  of  the 
night,  I  remained  in  bed  until  next  day  about  ten 
o'clock,  when  Mr.  Willis,  who  had  gone  down  to 
the  ship  early  in  the  morning,  came  home  bringing 


Strange  Feelings.  Ill 

our  trunks,  and  I  put  on  my  new  dress,  a  nice 
brown  one,  made  in  New  Zealand,  which  I  was 
glad  to  see  was  like  those  worn  by  the  ladies  in 
California. 

Mr.  Willis'  friends  kept  coming  all  day  to  see 
the  curiosity,  (me). 

I  went  to  the  head  of  the  stairs  after  I  was 
dressed  and  heard  voices  below;  I  did  not  know 
whether  to  go  down  or  not;  but  I  was  proud  of 
my  new  dress  and  started  down ;  1  was  met  on  the 
stairs  by  the  lady's  daughter  and  she  said: 

"  Oh,  Laulii,  you  got  up?" 

I  said:  "Yes." 

She  brought  me  to  the  front  room,  next  to  the 
parlor  which  was  full  of  people,  and  I  saw  the 
door  open  a  little  and  could  hear  voices  on  the 
other  side.  I  felt  like  going  up  to  my  room  again 
and  closing  the  door.  After  awhile  the  lady  of 
the  house  came  in  and  said: 

"  Oh  you  are  up  ?  " 

I  said,  "Yes." 

She  told  me  to  remain  there  a  little  while  and 
she  would  bring  me  my  dinner.  I  staid  there  and 
every  little  while  I  could  see  the  parlor  door  open 
a  little,  but  I  pretended  not  to  notice. 

They  brought  me  some  lunch  and  afterwards  in- 
troduced me  to  a  number  of  people  who  were  in 
the  house,  who  all  seemed  pleased  to  see  me,  and 
several  of  them  invited  me  to  come  to  their  houses. 
But  some  how  or  other,  all  the  time  I  felt  that  they 


112  A  Kind  Friend. 

looked  at  me  as  something  curious  and  different 
from  anything  they  had  ever  seen  before,  and 
while  they  did  not  intend  it,  yet  it  made  my  heart 
feel  sad,  because  I  seemed  to  feel  that  they  did  not 
think  I  was  equal  to  them.  I  know  better  now, 
but  I  am  telling  you  what  I  felt  at  that  time. 

The  name  of  this  family  was  Mclntosh,  and  the 
husband,  wife  and  children  did  everything  in  their 
power  to  make  me  acquainted  with  the  customs  of 
the  country,  and  to  show  me  how  the  people  here 
acted,  and  helped  me  learn  the  things  necessary  for 
women  in  America  to  know,  and  in  a  great  many 
ways  assisted  me  in  educating  myself  to  the  duties 
of  my  new  position  as  an  American. 

THE    KIND   TEACHER. 

There  was  a  kinder-garten  teacher  stopping  in 
the  house  and  she  was  very  kind  to  me  and  used 
to  talk  to  me;  I  watched  for  the  hours  when  she 
would  go  down  stairs  and  be  out  to  meet  her  so 
that  she  would  talk  tome. 

She  told  me  how  when  her  family  had  left  Aus- 
tralia, they  had  brought  a  dark  girl  with  them,  and 
they  liked  this  girl  very  much,  but  she  died;  and 
she  said  if  I  would  come  she  would  be  glad  to  take 
me  to  her  mother's.  I  asked  Mr.  Willis  if  I  could 
go,  and  he  said  I  might  if  I  wished ;  so  the  teacher 
and  myself  took  the  cable  car«  to  Kearny  street, 
then  got  into  the  horse-car  and  rode  to  the  ferry. 
The  teacher  explained  to  me  as  well  as  she  could 
and  was  very  kind. 


In  a  Railway  Train.  113 

When  we  got  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life  I  rode  in  a  train  of  rail- 
road cars.  I  never  told  the  girl  my  thoughts,  but 
when  we  got  into  the  train  I  did  not  speak  a  word, 
but  sat  still  and  cried ;  she  asked  me  why  I  was 
crying;  I  told  her  I  was  frightened;  I  thought  I 
would  never  see  Mr.  Willis  again,  it  went  so  fast; 
I  thought  we  were  thousands  of  miles  away. 

After  awhile  the  train  stopped  and  we  got  off, 
and  she  said  I  would  soon  see  her  mother  and 
sister;  and  when  we  came  to  the  house — oh,  she 
had  such  a  kind  mother  !  She  had  told  them  all 
about  me — that  I  could  not  understand  the  lan- 
guage; and  when  I  came  the  mother  rushed  up 
and  kissed  me  and  took  me  into  the  house,  which 
reminded  me  so  much  of  home,  because  it  had  a 
veranda  and  flowers  all  around;  I  thought  it  was 
fine,  and  if  I  never  saw  my  husband  again  I  would 
feel  very  bad,  but,  if  I  could  not  find  him,  I  could 
have  a  home  here,  perhaps. 

They  took  me  out  and  showed  me  the  garden, 
and  talked  to  me  all  the  time,  and  tried  to  explain 
everything;  then,  when  supper  was  over,  they 
took  me  to  my  room,  which  was  in  front  and 
opened  into  a  room  next  to  mine,  in  which  they 
slept,  and  she  said: 

"Now,  Mrs.  Willis,  you  sleep  well;  don't  fear 
anything,  because  I  will  sleep  right  here  near  you." 

The  girls  came  and  kissed  me  good-night,  and 
said  that  everything  was  there  for  me,  and  I  must 
feel  right  at  home,  and  sleep  well. 


114  Afraid  of  Burglars. 

A   FRIGHTENED   GIRL. 

They  left  the  door  open,  and  I  said  to  myself: 
"That  door  must  be  shut;"  for  I  remembered  a 
story  Mrs.  Turner  told  me  about  a  rich  man  in 
Scotland  who  was  going  away  from  home  one  time, 
and  his  wife  went  down  to  bid  him  good-bye;  the 
servants  left  the  gate  open  so  that  she  could  get  in 
when  she  returned;  a  burglar  got  in  through  the 
open  gate,  and  got  under  the  lady's  bed  and  killed 
her.  I  remembered  this  story,  and  looked  under 
the  bed  and  shut  the  door  and  fastened  the  win- 
dows, and  looked  under  the  chairs  and  every- 
where; then  one  of  the  girls  came  in  (I  suppose 
she  saw  that  I  was  not  going  to  bed). 

She  said:  "Oh,  Mrs.  Willis,  go  to  sleep;  if  you 
like,  I  will  sleep  here  with  you." 

Everything  was  dark  to  me ;  I  could  not  see  their 
kindness  then,  but  I  see  it  now.  I  thought  if  I 
went  to  sleep,  these  people  or  others  would  come 
and  kill  me,  and  then  I  would  never  see  Mr.  Willis 
again,  for  I  thought  he  did  not  know  now  where  I 
was  as  he  had  not  known  this  young  lady  very 
long.  I  tried  to  keep  awake  all  night  and  jumped 
into  bed  with  my  clothes  on. 

Then  the  old  lady  came  in  again  and  said:  "Now 
you  go  to  sleep  and  leave  this  door  open." 

I  looked  around  and  saw  a  bottle  and  thought, 
now  if  anybody  comes  I  will  hit  them  with  this 
bottle ;  so  I  hid  it  under  the  bed  clothes. 

I  don't  know  how  I  came  to  go  to  sleep,  but  the 


Studying  English.  115 

first  thing  I  remember  after  that,  was  hearing  the 
girls  calling  me  to  get  up ;  breakfast  was  ready  and 
everything  was  light. 

When  I  left  with  the  teacher  to  go  home  they 
all  said  that  I  must  come  back  and  see  them  again, 
and  must  come  soon;  they  were  so  good  to  me  I 
would  do  anything  for  them. 

LEARNING  TO  READ. 

When  I  got  home  and  told  Mr.  Willis  how  good 
they  had  been  to  me  and  how  much  I  liked  them, 
he  asked  where  they  lived ;  and  asked  this  young 
lady  to  teach  me  the  language,  so  she  used  to  come 
every  day  and  teach  me  the  A  B  C's  and  call  the 
names  of  the  chairs  and  things  around  the  room. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  an  American 
wedding  while  I  was  staying  at  Mr.  Mclntosh's;  the 
girls  wanted  to  see  it,  and  asked  me  to  go  with 
them;  so  with  Mr.  Willis1  permission  I  went. 

I  met  a  number  of  ladies  who  had  known  Mr. 
Willis  before  he  went  to  Samoa,  and  who  were  very 
kind  to  me  and  have  been  ever  since;  to  those 
ladies  I  am  very  much  indebted  for  the  practical 
education  I  obtained  from  them. 

After  some  two  months  Mrs.  Farrell  thought  it 
would  be  better  for  us  to  have  a  house  of  our  own, 
so  we  rented  a  flat  near  them  and  went  to  house- 
keeping. The  weather  was  so  cold  that  it  was  all 
I  could  do  to  keep  warm,  and  for  quite  a  while  I 
was  not  much  of  a  success  as  a  housekeeper;  but 


116  Mrs.  Bruce. 

by  trying  to  learn  and  with  the  help  of  friends  I 
managed  so  we  got  on  pretty  well  at  last. 

During  my  efforts  at  housekeeping  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Farrell  were  very  kind  indeed ;  he  would  send 
things  to  me  and  Mrs.  Farrell  showed  me  a  great 
deal,  and  I  never  can  express  how  kind  they  were 
to  me. 

AT  THE  CLIFF. 

Mr.  Willis  having  been  employed  to  superintend 
the  building  of  the  new  pavilion  at  the  Cliff  House 
beach,  we  went  out  there  to  live.  We  stayed  there 
six  months  and  I  had  a  splendid  time,  because  it 
was  close  to  the  water  and  reminded  me  of  home; 
I  went  fishing  on  the  rocks  and  had  a  real  good 
time. 

MRS.  BRUCE. 

Soon  after  Missionary  Williams  went  to  Samoa, 
an  adventurous  spirit  by  the  name  of  Bruce,  from 
New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  came  to  the  islands 
and  remained  there  fifteen  years ;  during  this  time 
he  married  a  half-caste  woman  whose  father  was 
an  Englishman  and  whose  mother  was  of  high 
rank  in  king  Maleitoa's  family. 

He  brought  his  wife  and  child  with  him  to 
America,  and  ultimately  settled  in  San  Francisco, 
and  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  meet  Mrs.  Bruce, 
soon  after  I  came  here. 

After  the  Pavilion  was  finished,  we  came  back  to 
Mr.  Farrell' s  house  and  staid  with  them  quite  a 
while. 


Took  the  Wrong  Car.  117 

LOST. 

One  day  we  were  invited  to  attend  a  birth-day 
party  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Case,  superintendent  of 
the  Ferry,  who  lived  with  his  family  in  the  ferry 
building. 

Mr.  Willis  having  an  engagement  and  it  being 
only  a  short  distance,' he  put  me  in  the  Geary  street 
cable  cars  and  told  me  when  I  got  down  to  Market 
street,  to  take  the  horse-cars  and  go  down  to  the 
Ferry. 

I  did  exactly  as  I  was  told,  and  got  into  a  car 
drawn  by  horses,  and  it  kept  going  and  going  and 
going,  and  at  last  it  stopped;  and  I  looked  around 
and  did  not  see  the  ferry  (I  was  acquainted  with 
those  buildings),  and  I  asked  the  man  if  the  car 
did  not  go  any  farther. 

He  said:  "No." 

The  fact  was,  I  had  taken  the  wrong  car  and  was 
away  out  at  North  Beach ;  but  I  did  not  know 
where  I  was.  I  wanted  to  know  what  direction 
the  ferry  was,  and  he  pointed  down  the  river ;  then 
I  started  to  walk;  I  thought  I  would  be  cute  and 
find  my  own  way,  and  not  ask  anybody  unless  I 
could  see  a  policeman,  for  Mr.  Willis  had  warned 
me  against  speaking  to  any  one  except  officers,  to 
ask  my  way. 

I  walked  and  walked  all  around  what  I  now 
know  to  be  Telegraph  hill,  and  kept  on  down  by 
the  water  until  at  last,  I  found  a  policeman,  but  it 
was  a  long  time  before  I  did  find  one;  people  have 


118  Finding  a  Policeman. 

told  me  several  times  since  that  it  was  awful  hard 
to  find  policemen  when  you  wanted  one.  I  asked 
the  one  I  found  if  he  would  please  tell  me  where 
the  ferry  was — and  don't  you  think,  I  was  right 
there  at  it  then,  and  I  was  glad  !  I  had  been  ever 
since  from  one  o'clock  until  five  getting  to  the 
birthday  party  and  the  day  was  nearly  over,  and 
when  I  came  into  the  house,  there  was  Mr.  Willis 
waiting  for  me  with  the  rest  of  them ;  they  did  not 
know  where  I  was  and  had  begun  to  get  anxious 
about  me.  But  the  next  time  I  get  lost,  I  aint 
going  to  get  lost. 

GOING  BACK  TO  SAMOA. 

I  had  .been  over  to  spend  some  time  with  my 
friend,  Mrs.  James,  at  Oakland,  and  on  my  return 
one  night,  found  Mr.  Willis  and  my  old  friend, 
Mr.  Naismith,  and  about  the  first  thing  Mr.  Nai- 
srnith  said  to  me  was: 

"I  suppose,  Laulii,  you  are  glad  to  go  back  to 
Samoa." 

I,  not  understanding  said:  "Oh  yes,  I  would  be 
glad  to  go,  but  I  guess  it  will  be  some  time  before 
I  get  there." 

He  said:  "Suppose  you  go  back  there — what 
would  you  do  ?" 

"I  don't  know  exactly  what  I  would  do,  but  I 
would  be  glad  to  see  them  and  they  would  be  glad 
to  see  me,  and  they  would  give  me  a  big  Aiga 
(welcome  feast). 


A   Talk  with  Mrs.  Bruce.  H9 

That  Mr.  Naismith  supposed  that  Mr.  Willis  had 
told  me  that  he  had  made  arrangements  to  go  back 
to  Samoa,  but  I  had  been  absent  and  was  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact. 

When  I  realized  that  we  were  actually  going  back 
to  Samoa,  I  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  myself 
I  was  so  glad;  I  went  right  away  to  tell  my  friend, 
Mrs.  Bruce,  about  it. 

She  said:  "Well,  it  is  very  pleasant  to  go  back 
to  Samoa,  but  you  will  not  be  satisfied  there  again 
and  will  want  to  come  back  to  California." 

I  said:  "Oh  no,  I  will  be  so  happy  with  my  peo- 
ple there." 

She  said:  "Laulii,  I  am  older  than  you,  and  I 
have  been  back  to  Samoa  with  feelings  very  simi- 
lar to  what  you  have  now,  but  after  I  had  been 
there  a  little  while  I  was  not  satisfied  at  all;  I  came 
back  here  again,  and  this,  my  child,  will  be  your 
experience." 

A  PROMISE. 

Mrs.  Bruce  was  a  very  old  lady,  not  very  far 
from  eternity,  and  she  knew  she  would  never  see 
me  again;  and  before  I  went  away  she  said: 

"Laulii,  I  want  you  to  promise  me  one  thing; 
will  you  do  it?" 

I  said:  "Certainly." 

She  said:  "When  you  come  back  again  from  Sa- 
moa I  want  you  to  come  out  to  the  cemetery  and 
find  my  grave,  for  I  will  be  with  the  Master  before 
you  come  back." 


]20  Going  to  the  Islands  Again. 

I  did  not  forget  this  promise,  but  kept  it  and  do 
to  this  day. 

GOING  BACK  TO  SAMOA. 

We  sailed  for  Samoa  on  the  German  barque, 
Tlieodore,  and  after  a  journey  of  thirty-eight  days 
I  was  awakened  one  morning  by  hearing  Mr.  Wil- 
lis say,  "Land-0,"  and  I  jumped  up  and  ran  on 
deck;  I  could  not  see  any  land,  but  Mr.  Willis  in- 
sisted he  saw  it  and  it  was  there,  and  shortly  after- 
ward I  saw  it  for  myself.  I  saw  the  hills  and 
peaks,  then  the  green  foliage  with  the  surroundings 
with  which  I  was  so  familiar. 

I  suppose  the  same  feelings  are  in  the  heart  of 
all  who,  having  been  away  for  some  time  in  a  for- 
eign clime,  once  more  have  the  happiness  of  look- 
ing at  the  home  where  they  were  born;  and  the 
Samoan  heart  feels  the  joy  just  as  deeply  and  just 
as  thoroughly  as  the  heart  of  any  other  nation. 

IN    SIGHT   OF   HOME. 

On  our  way  Mr.  Willis  pointed  out  to  me  the 
harbor  of  Laulii,  and  the  towering  mountain  011 
the  island  where  the  Chiefs  of  my  family  for  gen- 
erations have  been  buried. 

I  cannot  describe  my  feelings  as  I  looked  at  the 
island  of  my  people — the  home  of  my  infancy  and 
youth — the  town  after  which  I  was  named ;  suffice 
it  to  say  that  the  recollections  of  all  the  former 
years  crowded  thick  and  fast  upon  me,  and  I  could 
only  stand  and  look  while  the  tears  chased  each 
other  down  my  cheeks.  It  was  home,  that  I  had 


Sorrowful  News.  121 

never  expected  to  see  again ;  it  was  home — more  to 
me  than  any  one  else,  for  there  was  where  I  had  first 
seen  the  light ;  there  my  early  childhood  had  been 
spent,  and  it  was  from  there  that  my  husband  had 
taken  me  away  to  the  far  distant  land.  I  had 
never  expected  to  see  it  more,  and,  when  once 
again  its  hills  and  valleys,  its  foliage,  fruits  and 
flowers  were  before  me,  I  would  have  been  less 
than  human  had  not  my  heart  swelled  with  unut- 
terable joy,  and  a  prayer  of  gratitude  arisen  from 
my  heart  thanking  God  that  once  more  I  had  seen 
Samoa. 

CAPTAIN    SCHMIDT. 

In  a  little  while  after  passing  Laulii,  the  pilot 
boat,  Captain  Schmidt,  with  his  round,  jolly  face 
and  stentorian  lungs,  hailed  the  vessel  and  came 
on  board.  Captain  Schmidt  was  a  relative  of  ours 
by  marriage,  his  wife  being  sister  to  Daniel  Jen- 
nings, who  had  married  my  sister  Tafi  (of  whom  he 
was  very  fond).  To  my  sorrow,  after  our  first 
greetings  were  over  he  told  me  that  Tafi  had  died 
just  two  days  before  we  arrived. 

ABOUT    TAFI. 

Tafi  and  I  had  kept  up  correspondence  ever 
since  I  had  left  the  island,  and  her  last  letter  had 
been  received  only  a  few  weeks  before  we  left  San 
Francisco,  and  the  news  of  her  death  came  upon 
me  with  startling  and  sorrowful  force. 


122  Nearing  My  Old  Home. 

CAPTAIN  HAMILTON. 

All  this  time  we  were  going  towards  Apia  and 
very  soon  another  boat  came  alongside,  in  which 
was  an  old  pilot  who  had  retired  from  the  business, 
(Captain  Hamilton)  who  had  seen  the  signals  of 
our  vessel  from  a  distance;  although  my  family 
knew  that  I  was  coming,  they  had  supposed  that  I 
would  be  in  an  American  ship,  but  Captain  Hamil- 
ton, knowing  by  the  signals  that  this  German 
barque  was  from  San  Francisco,  was  satisfied  that 
we  were  on  board,  and  bringing  with  him  fruits 
and  food  of  various  descriptions,  and  sending  a  run- 
ner to  tell  my  people  we  were  on  board,  had  come 
out  to  meet  us  and  take  me  on  shore. 

(Owing  to  the  regulations,  no  native  is  allowed 
to  take  a  passenger  from  off  a  vessel  except  with 
the  consent  and  under  seal  of  the  three  foreign 
consuls,  but  Captain  Hamilton  was  not  subject  to 
this  regulation,  he  being  a  pilot  and  also  vice-con- 
sul of  the  United  States.) 

He  also  was  a  relation  by  marriage  of  my  fam- 
ily. As  soon  as  the  boat  came  near  (he  brought 
with  him  on  the  boat  also,  his  nephew  Fred  Tur- 
ner, an  old  friend  of  ours)  they  cried  out  "Talofa" 
(how  are  you)  and  also  tossed  up  oranges,  bananas, 
and  all  kinds  of  native  fruits.  They  soon  came  on 
board  themselves  and  we  were  saluted  in  the  true 
Samoan  fashion  (as  the  Captain  prided  himself, 
upon  being  a  Samoan  in  spirit  and  in  truth),  by 
rubbing  noses,  which  with  us  takes  the  place  of 


Dress-making.  123 

kissing  in  civilized  countries,  and  which  we  think 
is  just  as  affectionate  and  less  liable  to  transmit 
disease. 

They  desired  to  take  me  immediately  on  shore, 
and  I  went  with  them  to  meet  my  people  who  by 
this  time  had  gathered  on  the  shore  until  the  beach 
was  alive  with  members  of  my  family,  who  wrere 
all  in  mourning  on  account  of  the  death  of  Tafi, 
so  our  meeting,  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
most  joyous,  was  of  a  somewhat  sad  description. 

The  welcome  dinner  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  extended  to  me,  was  on  this  account 
postponed  to  some  future  occasion,  as  we  could 
not,  under  the  circumstances,  have  a  feast  of  re- 
joicing. 

GO  INTO  BUSINESS. 

When  I  returned  to  the  island,  I  carried  my  sew- 
ing machine  with  me,  as  I  had  become  very  expert 
in  its  use ;  I  made  clothes  for  myself  and  niece  in  a 
manner  and  style  that  attracted  the  attention  of 
all  of  the  people,  and  they  would  come  to  me  and 
ask  me  to  make  clothes  for  them,  and  were  per- 
fectly willing  to  pay  me  for  it  whatever  I  asked. 

I  saw  I  could  make  some  money  for  myself,  and 
so  I  would  make  clothing  for  any  one  who  so  de- 
sired, and  frequently  I  would  take  in  as  much 
money  in  a  'day,  as  Mr.  Willis  did  for  himself,  in 
his  business.  I  have  frequently  received  thirty 
dollars  for  a  single  day's  work;  the  wives  of  the 
German  employees  of  the  firm,  seeing  how  nicely 


124  Jealousy. 

I  made  dresses  for  myself  and  my  people,  also  came 
to  me  and  asked  me  to  make  dresses  for  them, 
which  I  did;  and  they  would  say  "send  the  bills  to 
our  husbands." 

I  would  say  "I  will  give  you  the  bills,  and  you 
take  them  to  your  husbands  yourselves." 

OBJECT  TO  LARGE  BILLS. 

Some  of  them  did  so,  and  their  husbands  would 
«ay,  "it  is  too  much,  why  don't  you  make  your 
own  clothes  as  you  used  to  ?" 

They  said  they  wanted  fashionable  clothes,  and 
"  Laulii  makes  dresses  in  good  style  and  we  don't 
want  to  wear  these  old  fashioned  clothes  when 
other  people  have  good,  nice  ones;"  and  so  they 
insisted  on  having  me  make  the  dresses.  Although, 
as  my  readers  will  remember,  we  were  in  Samoa, 
and  in  the  tropics  where  the  heat  is  something 
terrible,  yet  when  velvets  and  heavy  goods  were 
introduced,  when  it  became  the  fashion  to  wear 
them,  and  they  were  an  evidence  of  wealth,  the 
women  would  put  them  on,  no  matter  how  hot  it 
"was,  or  how  uncomfortable  the  garments  were ;  but 
I  believe  that  practice  is  not  confined  to  Samoa,  as 
I  notice  in  San  Francisco  on  hot  days,  ladies  will 
-wear  heavy  seal -skin  sacques  and  other  heavy  gar- 
ments, because,  I  suppose,  they  represent  a  good 
•deal  of  money. 

The  other  dressmakers  in  Samoa  became  jealous 
of  my  success,  and  especially  because  I  made  up 
dresses  so  much  nicer  and  more  stylish  than  they 


Fifty -dollar  Outfits.  125 

did,  and  I  think,  perhaps,  it  was  through  their  in- 
fluence that  a  notice  was  served  on  me  that  if  I 
continued  dressmaking  I  must  pay  a  license,  as  I 
was  on  German  ground,  and  my  husband  was  em- 
ployed by  the  German  firm,  and  they  said  I  had  no 
right  to  set  up  in  business  for  myself. 

I  told  them  I  could  go  to  Apia  and  do  dressmak- 
ing there  among  my  own  people ;  but  my  husband 
objected  to  this,  and  so  I  afterwards  did  work  only 
for  friends,  and  did  not  make  a  regular  business  of 
it.  I  think,  however,  the  main  objection  to  my 
dressmaking  business  was  for  the  following  reason: 

WHO    PAY   THE    BILLS. 

In  Samoa  when  a  native  girl  is  going  to  be  mar- 
ried to  a  white  man,  she  picks  out  her  own  marriage 
dress,  for  which  I  charged  fifty  dollars,  and  (dif- 
ferent from  this  country)  the  bridegroom  has  to  pay 
for  it ;  although  these  bridegrooms  would  want  their 
intendeds  to  get  their  dresses  from  the  other  dress- 
makers (who  would  make  very  cheap  ones),  they 
would  positively  declare  they  would  not  have  any 
body  but  Laulii  make  them,  and  consequently  the 
husbands-to-be  very  much  objected  to  this  fifty 
dollar  outfit,  but  when  the  girls  refused  to  marry 
unless  a  fine  fifty  dollar  marriage-dress  was  bought, 
and  as  I  did  not  deliver  the  goods  until  they  were 
paid  for,  I  generally  got  my  money,  the  girl  got 
her  dress,  and  the  man  got  his  wife. 

As  the  sisters  in  the  convent  had  always  been 
very  kind  to  me,  I  would  make  dresses  for  their 


126  Making  an  Income. 

pupils  for  just  a  little  more  than  the  goods  actu- 
ally cost  me,  but  when  the  fathers  or  mothers 
came,  or  it  was  for  some  festive  occasion,  I  was  not 
at  all  particular  what  price  I  charged. 

MILLINERY. 

The  stores  soon  found  out  that  I  was  acquainted 
with  the  fashionable  styles,  and  whenever  they  would 
have  an  invoice  of  hats,  bonnets,  etc.,  they  would 
send  them  down  to  me  with  the  ribbons  and  trim- 
mings, and  I  would  fix  them  up  for  sale;  and, 
when  sold,  they  would  pay  me  my  commission  or 
price  for  trimming  them. 

It  was  not  the  custom  in  my  childhood  to  wear 
what  you  may  call  American  hats;  we  used  to 
wear  coverings  for  our  heads  which  we  made  our- 
selves out  of  the  leaves  of  the  sugar-cane  and  other 
plants ;  but  when  one  of  the  Samoan  girls  obtained 
one  of  these  "store  hats"  others  wanted  them, 
also;  and,  as  they  could  not  afford  to  have  a  new 
hat  every  season,  I  did  a  very  good  business  by 
cleaning,  fixing  and  re-trimming  old  ones. 

I  also  had  another  little  source  of  revenue ;  I  had 
become  a  good  cook,  and  understood,  especially, 
about  making  fancy  cake,  and  whenever  there  was 
going  to  be  a  public  dinner  party  on  shore  at  some 
of  the  hotels,  the  proprietors  would  furnish  me 
with  all  the  materials,  and  pay  me  a  good  price 
for  making  the  cake  and  superintending  the  prep- 
aration of  the  dinner. 


The  Welcome  Dinner.  127 

A    GREAT    FEAST. 

After  we  had  been  in  Samoa  several  months  our 
relatives  said:  "Now  we  must  give  to  Laulii 
and  her  husband  the  dinner  that  would  have  been 
given  on  their  arrival  had  it  not  been  for  the  death 
of  Tan;"  and  so  they  gave  us  the  dinner. 

To  this  feast  everybody  was  invited.  The  cost 
of  this  dinner,  although  we  did  the  inviting,  was 
borne  by  my  people.  Our  tables  were  banana 
leaves  placed  on  the  ground  about  three  feet  wide, 
and  as  long  as  was  necessary  to  accommodate  the 
guests;  these  were  laid  under  the  trees  in  a  grove. 
In  the  middle  of  this  table,  its  entire  length,  were 
driven  stakes,  over  which  strings  reached  the  en- 
tire length,  and  while  the  heavy  food,  pigs,  bread- 
fruit, taro,  yams,  etc.,  were  placed  on  the  banana 
leaves,  the  lighter  things,  chickens,  pigeons,  etc., 
were  hung  on  the  strings.  On  each  side  of  the 
table  mats  were  laid  down,  and  the  guests  sat 
on  these,  facing  each  other. 

To  this  great  dinner  not  only  were  the  natives 
invited,  but  also  all  of  the  white  residents,  and 
there  was  an  immense  crowd  assembled.  Ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  country,  we  could 
not  do  any  talking  to  our  guests,  but  Mr.  Willis 
had  to  select  a  Tulafale  to  talk  for  him,  which  he 
did  by  choosing  a  woman  named  Silifono.  He  took 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  table  and  I  went  among 
the  white  people  about  the  center  of  the  table,  to 
•see  that  everybody  was  attended  to. 


128  No  Samoan  Dance. 

MR.  WILLIS  MADE  A   CHIEF. 

As  this  feast  was  in  honor  of  Mr.  Willis  and  my- 
self, my  father,  through  his  Tulafale,  created 
Mr.  Willis  the  Chief  of  Apia  for  that  day,  which 
gave  him  the  necessary  rank  or  position,  so  that 
he  could  receive  these  general  courtesies  without 
infringing  the  rules  of  the  country. 

After  prayer  by  his  Tulafale,  we  had  our  dinner. 
Among  the  presents  that  had  been  sent  for  the 
dinner  was  a  large  amount  of  beer  and  liquors, 
but  Mr.  Willis  would  not  allow  these  to  go  on 
the  table,  but  had  stowed  them  away  in  a  room  at 
home,  and  said  after  the  dinner  was  over  he  was 
going  to  send  them  back  to  the  people  wrho  had  given 
them  to  us,  as  he  was  determined  there  should  be 
no  liquor  at  this  feast.  Frequently  during  the  din- 
ner, people  would  ask  "  where  is  the  beer  ?"  <;  where 
is  the  liquor  we  sent?"  We  told  them  there  would 
be  none  at  the  dinner,  that  there  was  plenty  of 
everything  good  to  eat  and  drink  without  that. 
Then  some  of  those  that  were  present  wanted  to 
have  what  is  called  a  Samoan  dance,  but  Mr.  Wil- 
lis and  the  missionaries  present  said  "  No,  we  will 
not  have  the  Samoan  dance." 

The  missionary  said  "  if  the  Samoan  dance  is 
commenced  all  my  people  who  belong  to  the  church 
will  leave;"  so  it  was  decided  that  there  should  be 
none.  But  the  young  folks  determined,  if  possible, 
to  have  one,  and  when  the  older  ones  were  other- 
wise engaged,  they  sat  down  to  commence  this 


No  English  Taught.  129 

Samoan  dance,  but  it  was  soon  broken  upland  the 
missionaries  and  Mr.  Willis  would  not  allow  it;  so 
you  see,  we  had  our  feast  and  there  were  no 
liquors,  no  Samoan  dance,  nor  anything  that  any- 
one could  object  to. 

At  the  close  of  the  feast  what  was  not  used  was 
divided  into  five  equal  parts  which  was  given  to  the 
families  of  the  American,  English,  German,  French 
and  natives ;  this  is  our  custom  of  disposing  of  what 
was  left,  which  was  delivered  as  divided  to  the 
homes  of  the  various  nationalities,  by  my  people. 

THE  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION. 

All  native  children  are  privileged  to  go  every 
day  to  the  schools  taught  by  the  native  Samoan 
teachers,  and  it  is  compulsory  that  they  should  do 
so,  and  the  only  books  used  are  the  Bible  and 
scriptual  song  book ;  but  no  English  is  taught  in 
these  schools,  neither  can  a  native  Samoan  acquire 
the  English  language  in  any  school  taught  by  the 
white  missionaries  on  the  island.  Only  half-caste 
or  children  with  a  portion  of  white  blood,  or  chil- 
dren of  the  white  residents  are  permitted  to  go  to 
the  schools  where  the  English  language  is  taught. 

To  this  practice  exception  is  taken  by  the 
Samoaiis  and  it  is  a  prominent  cause  of  displeasure 
to  them;  there  is  however,  one  exception  to  this 
rule,  and  that  is  the  school  under  the  management 
of  the  Catholics.  Here  any  child,  white  or  native, 
can  receive  an  English  education,  it  matters  not 
whether  they  belong  to  any  other  church  or  not, 


130  Brought  Back. 

they  can  learn  English  at  the  Catholic  schools,  and 
many  of  the  native  chiefs  and  Samoan  missionaries 
on  account  of  this  liberality  on  the  part  of  the 
Catholic  church,  have  left  the  churches  to  which 
they  originally  belonged  and  embraced  the  Catho- 
lic faith. 

THE  CONVENT  SCHOOL. 

I,  myself,  desired  very  much  to  go  to  this  Catho- 
lic school,  but  my  father  being  a  deacon  in  a  church 
founded  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  would 
not  permit  me  to  do  so. 

I  heard  from  my  cousin,  who  was  in  the  Catho- 
lic school,  how  kind  the  sisters  were  to  her  and 
how  much  they  taught  her,  not  only  of  language, 
but  all  of  the  various  household  duties  that  a 
woman  ought  to  know;  and  I  ran  away  twice  to 
go  there,  but  my  father  brought  me  back  both 
times. 

NATIVES  NOT  TAUGHT  ENGLISH. 

I  thought  it  was  hard  that  people  should  come 
to  our  land  and  set  up  schools  and  teach  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  then  not  permit  us,  who  were 
native  born,  to  come  to  these  schools;  but  keep 
every  one  out  who  was  not  white,  or  did  not  have 
white  blood  in  them.  And  this  custom  has  made 
a  great  many  of  our  people  very  much  dissatisfied 
with  these  missionaries  from  other  countries;  and, 
while  I  will  say  my  people  are  grateful  to  them  for 
many  things,  yet  we  most  seriously  object  to  their 
refusing  to  teach  us  the  English  language. 


My  Nieces'   Children.  131 

We  would  not  complain  if  this  language  was  not 
taught  to  others,  but  we  think  that  we,  the  origi- 
nal owners  and  inhabitants  of  the  island,  are  as 
much  entitled  to  this  education,  if  we  want  it,  as 
anybody  else.  And  I  desire  to  say  to  ray  friends 
of  the  Protestant  faith  that  this  has  been  and  is  a 
serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  advancement 
among  the  natives,  especially  among  those  of  a  bet- 
ter education  than  the  masses. 

EFFECTS  OF  PROHIBITING. 

To  give  you  an  illustration;  the  children  of  the 
native  Samoans  are  often  much  lighter  in  color 
than  the  children  of  the  half-castes,  and  sometimes 
these  native  Samoan  children  would  get  into  the 
schools  and  it  not  be  known  that  they  were  natives, 
it  being  supposed  that  they  were  half-castes.  These 
native  children  are  quick  and  learn  rapidly  and 
would  soon  stand  at  the  head  of  their  classes,  and 
on  one  occasion  some  four  girls  had  obtained  ad- 
mission to  the  school  in  this  manner,  and  were  far 
in  advance  of  their  associates,  but  their  identity 
being  discovered  they  were  notified  that  they  could 
not  remain  in  the  school  and  had  to  leave;  but 
their  parents,  incensed  at  this  treatment,  sent  them 
immediately  to  the  Catholic  schools  and  the  whole 
family  became  Catholics. 

One  of  my  own  nieces,  herself  very  light  in 
color,  married  with  a  native  Samoan  who  was  also 
light-colored,  and  their  children  were  very  white 
indeed.  She  did  everything  that  she  could,  desir- 


132  Church  Life. 

ing  to  have  her  children  educated  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, to  have  them  admitted  into  the  schools  under 
the  control  of  the  Protestants,  but  say  what  she 
would  she  could  not  get  them  in,  and  the  result 
was  they  were  all  sent  to  the  Catholic  schools  and 
the  whole  family  are  Catholics. 

My  niece  did  not  wish  to  do  this  for  this  reason : 
My  father  was,  as  mentioned,  a  prominent  mem- 
ber and  officer  of  the  church,  and  on  his  death- 
bed made  all  of  us  promise  to  keep  in  the 
Protestant  faith ;  but  the  treatment  received  by *my 
niece  and  her  family,  as  before  given,  caused  her 
to  act  in  the  manner  described.  I  do  not  know  as 
I  am  able  to  give  the  true  reason  why  this  practice 
exists,  but  I  will  tell  you  what  I  think ;  I  believe 
that  they  do  not  wish  natives  to  learn  the  English 
language  because  they  are  afraid  that  they  would 
learn  too  much  about  values,  trade,  commerce,  and 
matters  of  business,  and  it  would  not  be  so  easy  to 
get  the  advantage  of  them  in  many  things  as  it  is 
at  the  present  time;  but  I  know  that  it  is  a  stumb- 
ling-block in  the  way  of  the  advancement  of  the 
native  Samoans,  and  a  standing  cause  of  offense  to 
them. 

MY   CHURCH    LIFE. 

When  I  was  about  eight  years  old  I  joined  the 
church  to  which  my  parents  belonged — that 
founded  by  Dr.  Turner,  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  in  which  I  have  been  ever  since.  When 
I  came  to  California,  in  1881,  I  brought  a  letter 


Raising  a  Flag.  133 

which  Dr.  Turner  gave  me  (see  letter),  and  joined 
the  Congregationalist  Church  on  the  corner  of 
Green  and  Stockton  streets.  I  afterwards  moved 
to  the  Olivet  Church,  and  later  to  Dr.  Scudder's 
Church  in  Alameda,  to  which  I  now  belong. 

RAISING   THE    GERMAN    WAR   FLAG. 

A  short  time  before  we  left  the  island  for  our 
second  journey  to  America,  Mr.  Willis  was  directed 
by  the  great  German  firm  for  which  he  worked  to 
build  a  fort.  I  heard  that  they  were  going  to  raise 
the  German  flag  and  take  possession  of  the  island 
for  the  German  people,  and  that  it  would  never 
belong  to  us  any  more,  and  we  would  never  have 
any  more  authority  of  any  kind. 

This  made  me  feel  very  bad  for  I  like  America 
the  best  and  I  had  always  thought  that  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  with  the  American  Govern- 
ment by  which  our  people  would  be  protected  in 
their  rights,  and  that  neither  it  nor  any  other  Gov- 
ernment would  interfere  with  us ;  and  when  I  heard 
that  Mr.  Willis  was  going  to  build  this  fort,  and 
that  the  German  flag  was  going  to  be  raised,  one 
day  when  he  came  home  I  said  to  him,  "what  for 
you  take  sides  against  my  people,  you  are  my  hus- 
band and  you  have  been  to  America.  I  like  these 
people  and  so  do  you,  and  what  do  you  go  build 
forts  for  the  Germans,  so  that  they  can  put  up  a 
flag  and  take  the  island  for  themselves?" 

He  said,  "I  know  what  I  am  doing,  don't  you 
worry;  the  American  people  will  do  just  as  they 


134  Exciting   Times. 

have  agreed  to;  and  they  will  not  allow  Germany 
or  any  other  nation  to  take  this  island  from  your 
people." 

Lots  of  my  people  would  come  up  to  my  house 
and  ask  me:  "Laulii,  what's  this,  how  is  it  that 
your  husband  is  building  forts  for  the  Germans?" 

THE  GERMAN  SOLDIERS. 

There  was  a  large  number  of  boats  filled  with 
German  soldiers  that  came  on  shore  from  the  Ger- 
man man-of-war,  and  when  my  people  saw  them 
land  and  march  up  to  the  fort  they  said:  "This  is 
the  last  of  us,  we  will  never  have  our  rights  any 
more  on  the  Island."  The  streets  were  crowded 
with  natives  who  followed  the  soldiers  up  to  the 
fort  to  see  what  they  were  going  to  do,  and  when 
they  heard  the  German  soldiers  shout  out:  "Samoa 
is  ours,  is  ours  forever,"  they  felt  very  sad  at  heart, 
for  they  truly  believed  that  they  would  have  to  be 
forever  under  the  German  Government. 

They  raised  the  German  flag  in  the  fort  and  we 
looked  at  it  and  said:  "No  more  Samoa — no  more 
Samoa." 

These  fortifications  were  built  around  the  house 
where  Maleitoa  lived,  and  this  flag  was  raised  over 
Maleitoa's  house  and  the  Germans  drove4he  na- 
tives outside  these  fortifications. 

GREAT    EXCITEMENT. 

The  raising  of  this  flag  caused  great  excitement 
and  many  of  the  Samoans  said  they  would  pull 


Tlie,  American  Consul.  135 

that  flag  down  if  it  cost  them  their  lives ;  but  Male- 
itoa  and  his  Chiefs  counseled  over  the  matter  and 
to  prevent  any  rash  native  from  attempting  to  pull 
down  the  flag,  stationed  a  guard  of  native  soldiers 
to  stop  any  one  who  might  attempt  it;  for  they 
knew  that  if  an  attempt  of  that  character  was 
made,  it  would  give  a  pretext  for  a  fight  and  the 
strength  of  the  German  soldiers  being  so  much  su- 
perior, they  could  take  the  island. 

FAITH   IN   AMERICA. 

Our  people  had  faith  that  the  American  govern- 
ment would  help  them  in  this  their  time  of  trouble, 
and  they  went  to  the  American  Consul,  Mr. 
Greenebaum,  who  has  always  been  a  true  and 
good  friend  to  our  people  and  we  to  this  day  love, 
and  always  shall,  this  man  for  his  noble  actions 
and  good  faith  towards  the  Samoans. 

MY  FATHER'S  DEATH. 

Mr.  Willis  was  frequently  absent  on  business, 
and  during  these  absences  my  father  would  make 
his  residence  at  our  house;  on  one  of  these  occa- 
sions my  father  was  taken  very  ill,  indeed,  and 
imagined  he  was  going  to  die.  It  is  the  custom  in 
Samoa,"  when  death  comes,  for  Chiefs  to  die  be- 
neath the  roof  where  their  ancestors  have  died, 
and  my  father  was  desirous  to  follow  this  custom ; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  having  been  left  in  charge 
of  our  house  by  Mr.  Willis,  he  did  not  wish  to 
violate  the  trust  reposed  in  him.  Still,  he  kept 


136  Father's  Death-bed. 

getting  worse  all  of  the  time.  Mr.  Willis,  how- 
ever, returned,  and,  feeble  though  my  father  was, 
he  was  removed  to  his  own  residence. 

Another  singular  custom  in  Samoa  is,  when  per- 
sons are  sick  they  move  about  from  house  to 
house,  believing  that  this  has  a  good  effect  upon 
the  health  of  the  patient;  and,  whether  this  is  true 
or  not,  it  certainly  is  true  that  sick  people  seem  to 
benefit  wonderfully  from  these  frequent  changes 
of  residence. 

Under  this  custom,  after  my  father  had  been 
taken  to  his  own  house,  he  was  removed  at  differ- 
ent times  to  several  other  houses.  At  last,  how- 
ever, it  was  apparent  to  all  that  he  could  not  live 
but  a  little  while,  and  he  was  taken  back  to  his 
own  residence. 

My  father  was,  for  a  Samoan,  a  very  old  man. 
He  knew  the  first  missionaries  that  ever  came  on 
that  island,  and  his  age,  together  with  his  ability, 
had  given  him  a  position  and  standing  second  to 
none. 

According  to  our  custom,  all  the  Chiefs  and 
Tulafales  were  summoned  to  his  death-bed.  He 
recounted  to  them  the  history  of  the  island,  the 
deeds  of  |their  ancestors,  the  origin  of  their  fam- 
ilies, and  urged  upon  all  present,  especially  those 
who  were  descendants  of  men  of  mark,  to  labor 
earnestly  for  the  prosperity  of  the  people  and  the 
advancement  of  the  interests  of  Samoa.  He  gave 
what  you  would  call  good  advice  and  counsel,  and 


A  Samoan  Christian.  137 

endeavored  to  inspire  those  present  with  an  addi- 
tional love  for  their  people  and  a  renewed  interest 
in  all  that  pertained  to  the  advantages  of  the  coun- 
try. 

After  he  had  so  talked  to  the  Chiefs  and  Tula- 
fales,  he  asked  them  to  retire,  and  then  gathered 
around  him  his  immediate  family.  We  all  came 
in,  the  mothers,  sisters,  sons  and  daughters,  with  all 
the  relatives  by  marriage,  and  gathered  around  his 
bed-side.  He  was  sinking  fast,  and  as  one  after 
another  would  bid  him  good-bye,  they  would  give 
expression  to  their  feelings  of  sorrow  that  he  was 
about  to  leave  them.  But  he  would  say:  "  Don't 
cry  for  me ;  I  am  only  going  to  sleep ;  Jesus  is  wait- 
ing for  me;  don't  sorrow  because  I  am  taken  away; 
I  am  a  very  old  man — God  has  given  me  a  long, 
long  lease  of  life ;  He  has  been  very  good  to  me,  and 
now  that  he  calls  for  me  to  go,  I  am  ready;  and 
you  should  not  sorrow  because  I  am  going.  I  have 
taken  care  of  you  from  the  time  you  were  young, 
until  you  have  all  grown  up,  strong  and  able  to 
take  care  of  yourselves.  I  want  you,  however,  to 
remember  my  last  words :  Trust  in  God ;  live  faith- 
ful to  the  teachings  of  His  church;  believe  in 
Jesus,  and  then  when  the  time  comes  for  you  to 
go,  we  will  all  meet  together  again,  and  I  will  be 
waiting  for  you  on  the  other  shore.  I  also  desire 
that  there  shall  be  no  feast  made  at  my  funeral,  I 
want  none  of  those  demonstrative  expressions  of 

mourning    as    is    sometimes  the    custom  in  this 
10 


138  Making  a  King. 

country.  I  desire  as  an  humble  servant  of  the 
Master  to  be  laid  quietly  to  sleep,  and  no  feast, 
celebration  or  jubilee  made  over  my  grave." 

I  may  here  state  that  in  olden  times  it  was  the 
custom,  and  is  now  in  some  instances,  the  prac- 
tice, at  the  death  of  a  Chief  or  Tulafale,  to  have 
feasts  at  funerals ;  but  father  having  been  for  many, 
many  years  a  deacon  of  the  church  and  a  consistent 
follower  of  the  faith,  objected  to  this  custom,  and 
made  us  promise  that  no  such  thing  should  be 
done  at  his  death,  and  we  obeyed  the  request, 
and  there  was  no  feast  or  demonstration  of  any 
kind. 

CEREMONY    OF   MAKING  A    KING. 

The  King  sits  at  one  end  of  the  room  with  a 
Tulafale  on  each  side  of  him ;  the  girls  who  make 
the  ava  sit  on  one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  Chiefs 
and  Tulafales  sit  all  around — first  a  Tulafale,  then 
a  Chief,  and  so  on  alternately.  They  all  drink 
ava;  first  it  is  passed  to  the  future  King's  Tulafale, 
then  to  him,  and  then  to  the  others  present. 

People  from  all  of  the  islands  are  present,  and.  as 
the  room  is  too  small  for  all,  the  King,  after  drink- 
ing inside,  goes  out  and  sits  in  front  of  the  house, 
with  his  Tulafale  at  his  side  and  the  other  Tula- 
fales and  Chiefs  all  around ;  the  people  all  sit  in 
front  of  the  King  at  a  respectful  distance. 

Then  a  Tulafale  gets  up  and  speaks,  and  the 
people  applaud;  when  he  is  done  another  Tulafale 
from  one  of  the  other  towns  speaks,  and  so  on  un- 


A  Two-days  Feast.  13D 

til  all  the  Tulafales  have  spoken ;  then  the  Tulafales 
decide  among  themselves  who  has  made  the  best 
speech ;  then  one  of  them,  who  is  appointed  before- 
hand to  call  out  the  names,  gives  this  best  speak- 
er's name,  and,  on  hearing  his  name,  the  one  called 
out  must  clap  his  hands  so  that  the  maid  may  know 
which  to  present  with  the  ava.  The  best  speaker 
gets  the  first  drink,  then  the  name  of  the  future 
King  is  spoken  with  the  title  for  the  first  time, 
and  the  maid  approaches  him,  but,  before  he  can 
take  the  cup,  the  Tulafale  grabs  it  and  spills  the 
ava  all  around  on  the  ground,  and  then  throws  the 
cocoanut  shell  to  the  girl. 

This  ends  the  ceremony,  and  the  people  cheer 
and  cheer ;  then  all  return  to  their  houses  and  have 
a  great  feast.  This  merry-making  they  keep  up 
for  about  two  days;  then  all  go  back  to  their 
towns. 

The  King  is  not  allowed  to  drink  ava  in  the 
presence  of  his  people;  so  the  drink  he  takes  in  the 
room  before  he  goes  out  in  front  to  receive  the 
name  is  the  last  he  takes  in  public. 

There  are  some  people  who  live  in  the  bush  in 
Samoa  called  Faa-luma,  who  are  not  considered 
worthy  of  notice;  one  of  these  people  may  come 
into  any  Samoan's  house,  be  he  king  or  citizen,  and 
take  anything  he  likes. 

The  ceremony  for  electing  a  Tulafale  or  a  Chief 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  King,  except  that  they 
are  allowed  to  drink  the  ava. 


140  Tke  Good  Sister. 

The  King  has  a  crown  made' of  shells,  on  which 
is  written  his  family's  and  his  own  history,  together 
with  the  account  of  his  election.  This  crown  is 
passed  from  one  King  to  another,  and  each  time 
new  shells  are  added  to  tell  the  history  of  the 
newly  enthroned  King. 

Tulafales  and  Chiefs  have  also  crowns  (called 
Palef  uiono)  but  it  is  not  necessary  that  they  should 
be  passed  to-  their  successors,  but  may  be  if  they 
wish. 

These  crowns  are  worn  only  at  great  meetings, 
when  the  King  is  also  known  by  the  value  of  the 
mats  he  wears;  on  other  days  he  is  dressed  like 
other  Samoans. 

The  King's  family  is  never  allowed  to  eat  with 
him— at  the  same  table — and  are  not  allowed  to 
•eat  the  food  that  has  been  on  his  table;  but  it  is 
given  to  visitors  if  they  happen  to  come  in  at  the 
time,  if  not,  it  is  given  to  these  Faa-luma,  some  of 
whom  are  always  present ;  they  may  come  and  take 
the  food  from  the  table  when  the  King  is  eating,  if 
they  feel  so  inclined,  and  they  will  not  be  noticed. 

SISTER  MARY. 

I  want  to  say  a  few  words  in  grateful  apprecia- 
tion of  the  many  favors  rendered  to  me  by  one  of 
the  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  the  convent  at  Apia.  The 
name  of  this  good  lady  is  Sister  Mary.  She  orig- 
inally came  from  Paris,  France. 

When  we  were  about  to  leave  for  America,  I 
went  to  the  convent  to  bid  her  good-bye.  She  told 


The  Grave  at  the  Convent.  141 

me  when  I  came  to  America  to  be  sure  to  come 
and  see  the  Sisters  here  and  to  tell  them  all  about 
their  Sisters  in  Samoa.  She  also  told  me  that  al- 
though I  was  a  Protestant  that  I  would  find  the 
Sisters  in  America  very  kind  to  me,  and  to  be  sure 
to  come  and  see  them. 

It  is  the  custom  in  Samoa  to  bury  the  dead 
within  sight  of  the  residences,  and  as  we  were 
walking  about  the  convent  grounds,  this  good  Sis- 
ter showed  me  a  grave  of  one  of  her  Sisters  who> 
had  come  there  with  her,  and  near  by  it,  showed 
me  the  place  where  she  herself  was  going  to  be 
buried. 

She  said :  "  I  think  I  shall  have  the  happiness  of 
seeing  you  again  before  I  die,  but  if  it  is  to  be  or- 
dered differently,  I  want  you  to  see  the  place  where 
my  body  will  be  buried,  in  the  event  that  should  I 
die  before  you  return  again  to  Samoa,  I  want  you 
to  promise  to  come  and  see  my  grave  in  case  of  my 
death,  or  call  and  see  me  if  I  am  still  alive.  I  shall 
never  leave  this  island.  I  have  become  thoroughly 
identified  with  the  interests  of  these  people ;  I  love 
the  work  in  which  I  am  engaged,  and  to  it  I  wish 
to  devote  my  life;  but  do  not  forget  to  come  and 
see  me  if  alive  or  visit  this  spot  where  my  body 
will  lie  if  I  have  been  taken  away." 

A    MUCH-PRIZED    LETTER. 

Mr.  Willis  has  a  mania  for  keeping  writing  of 
every  description  and  scraps  cut  from  papers,  and 
all  sorts  of  odds  and  ends.  I  am  supposed  to  en- 


142  An  Honest  Man's  Advice. 

tertain  the  same  reverence  for  them  that  he  does. 
With  many  of  them  I  am  not  at  all  familiar;  but 
there  is  one  document  which,  I  guess,  I  think  as 
much  of  as  he  does;  that  is  the  letter  which  his 
good  father  wrote  to  him  when  he  first  commenced 
business  for  himself.  It  may  appear  somewhat 
singular,  also,  to  state  that  upon  the  reception  of 
this  letter,  which  was  received  in  San  Francisco, 
Mr.  Willis  took  it  and  read  it  to  Mr.  Kellett,  a 
friend  of  his ;  and  thus  he  got  his  first  job  of  work 
In  the  city,  which  was  the  removing  and  repairing 
of  a  building  on  Ellis  street,  near  Market;  and 
thus  this  letter,  really  intending  to  be  a  practical 
father's  advice  to  a  son  whom  he  also  hoped  to 
make  practical,  was  in  reality  the  foundation 
stone  upon  which  he  commenced  his  business  life 
on  the  Pacific  Slope. 

(The  letter  is  here  given,  and  it  speaks  out 
plain,  homely,  sensible  truths  in  an  unmistakable 
manner:) 

FATHER'S  LETTER. 

It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  think  you  are 
in  business  for  yourself,  for  now  at  your  age  and 
long  experience  you  are  better  fitted  for  it  than 
you  would  have  been  some  few  years  ago,  and  I 
also  very  much  approve  of  your  going  "on  your 
own  hook."  Enter  not  into  partnership  with  any 
practical  man  like  yourself;  be  your  own  master, 
sink  or  swim;  the  only  way  to  have  a  partner  is  a 
man  with  capital,  who  will  not  take  part  in  the 
practical  part  of  the  business,  and  who  is  able  to 


An  Honest  Man's  Advice.  143 

supply  funds  at  any  time  when  required.  In  tak- 
ing a  job  do  not  go  too  low,  rather  do  without  it ; 
but  make  a  point  when  you  do  take  a  job  to  do  it 
well,  pay  or  no  pay;  and  then  you  will  soon  get 
your  name  up  and  when  once  you  get  a  good  name, 
plenty  of  persons  wanting  work  done  will  pay  a 
little  more  when  they  are  sure  of  having  a  good  job 
done,  whether  they  look  after  it  or  not.  The  join- 
ers in  St.  John  that  have  made  any  money  are  men 
of  that  stamp ;  also  never  take  a  job  low  so  as  to 
cut  out  some  other  man,  rather  let  him  have  it,  you 
will  be  better  in  the  end.  And  again,  now  you  are 
in  business  take  no  active  part  in  politics,  do  not 
be  known  as  either  a  Republican  or  Democratic 
partisan;  keep  your  own  thoughts  on  these  sub- 
jects to  yourself,  as  many  a  man  has  hurt  himself 
very  much  in  business  matters  by  letting  his  tongue 
go  loose.  It  is  easy  done;  think  much  but  say  lit- 
tle or  nothing.  It  is  hard  to  tell  when  it  may  meet 
you.  It  is  all  right  enough  to  be  a  politician,  but 
if  you  are  one  be  that  and  that  only  and  attend  to 
it  like  any  other  business;  but  it  is  a  hard  road  to 
travel  at  the  best  and  few  winners.  Again,  at  all 
times  be  punctual  to  your  word  in  having  your 
work  done  at  the  time  promised,  or  to  agreement; 
few  things  annoy  moneyed  men  more  than  the  fail- 
ure of  having  their  work  done  according  to  time 
and  agreement. 

I  merely  mention  these  few  things  to  give  you 
an  idea  of  how  I  have  seen  things  work  in  my 
time  and  how  things  should  be;  I  have  not  the 
least  idea  but,  if  God  spares  you  in  health  and 
strength,  you  will  succeed ;  and  such  is  the  earnest 
wish  of  your  father,  JAS.  A.  WILLIS. 


]44  The  Tagatia. 

OUR  NATIONAL  GAME. 

The  national  game  of  Samoa  is  the  Tagatia.  The 
people  of  from  three  to  six  towns  come  together 
to  witness  and  take  part  in  this  game,  which  is 
played  in  the  following  manner:  The  players  are 
divided  into  two  companies  of  one  hundred  each 
or  more,  each  member  of  which  is  supplied  with  a 
stick  two  or  three  feet  long;  this  stick  is  about 
the  size  of  the  little  finger  at  one  end  and  tapers 
down  to  a  point  at  the  other.  One  side  takes  its 
stand  at  the  end  of  a  level  piece  of  land,  and  each 
man  throws  his  stick  so  that  it  strikes  the  ground 
in  front  of  him  and  glances  upward  and  forward r 
and  he  who  throws  his  stick  the  farthest,  gains  a 
point.  The  other  side  stands  by  and  watches  until 
the  members  of  the  first  have  all  thrown  their 
sticks,  and  then  they  in  turn  take  their  stand  and 
throw  while  the  first  looks  on.  If  the  second 
party  succeed  in  throwing  farther  than  the  firstr 
it  has  won  one  point ;  they  play  this  way  until  one 
side  has  won  ten  points  and  thus  gained  the^victory. 

The  party  which  is  beaten,  must,  at  the  end  of 
the  game,  give  the  winners  a  feast;  so  their  Tula- 
fale  divides  them  into  companies  to  go  and  bring 
in  food ;  the  fires  are  started  and  the  Tulafale  gives 
them  orders  to  be  back  at  a  certain  time  (which 
they  tell  by  watching  the  sun)  when  the  ovens 
will  be  hot  and  everything  in  readiness  for  prepar- 
ing the  food ;  if  they  do  not  bring  in  enough  the 
first  time  he  sends  them  out  again. 


Exultation  of  the  Winners.  145 

When  the  meal  is  ready,  it  is  spread  in  a  big 
house,  and  the  winners  are  called  in,  where  the 
Chiefs  and  Tulafales  only  of  the  other  party  re- 
ceive them.  Here  there  is  great  merry-making 
by  the  victorious  party  which  teases  the  other, 
and,  as  the  beaten  are  obliged  to  obey  their  every 
request  or  order,  they  impose  various  tasks  upon 
them — some  of  these  are  very  ridiculous;  for  in- 
stance, an  old  man  is  told  to  do  something  which 
is  almost  beyond  his  strength,  or  a  weak  or  thin 
man  is  ordered  to  carry  some  great  fat  man  down 
to  the  river  side  to  bathe ;  and  hosts  of  queer  ideas 
will  suggest  themselves. 

When  the  party  first  comes  in  to  the  feast,  the 
Tulafale  addresses  the  Chiefs  and  the  party  in 
very  flowery  language.  While  he  is  speaking  the 
young  women  of  the  town  prepare  the  ava;  as 
soon  as  the  talking  is  over  the  ava  is  brought 
forward  and  served  first  to  the  Tulafale,  then  to 
the  principal  Chief,  and  so  on  in  rank  until  every- 
one is  served.  The  young  woman  serving  the 
ava  stands  up  and  holds  the  cup  in  her  hand,  on 
a  level  with  her  eyes,  until  she  hears  some  one  clap 
his  hands,  when  she  moves  her  head  around  and 
walks  slowly  towards  that  person;  when  within 
two  or  three  yards  of  him  she  lowers  her  cup,  and 
hands  it  to  him  as  he  sits  on  the  floor;  he  drinks 
the  ava,  hands  back  the  cup,  and  the  girl  returns 
for  a  new  supply,  and  waits  until  it  is  called  for 
again. 


146  fishing. 

When  a  Tulafale  rises  to  speak  he  is  supposed 
to  know  all  about  the  persons  of  whom  he  speaks 
— their  family  history,  etc. ;  and  if  he  makes  a  mis- 
take, says  what  is  untrue,  or  leaves  out  what  is 
well  known,  he  is  taken  out,  whipped,  and  dis- 
graced in  the  eyes  of  his  people;  so  it  is  much 
harder  to  be  a  Tulafale  than  a  Chief. 

When  the  dinner  is  over  the  vanquished  party 
holds  a  meeting  to  prepare  for  a  renewal  of  the 
game,  the  next  day,  for  the  purpose  of  winning  back 
their  lost  honors.  At  the  same  time  the  winners 
are  not  idle,  as  they  well  know  that  if.  they  are 
beaten  they  will  be  doubly  repaid  for  all  the  indig- 
nities they  have  imposed  upon  their  victims  of  the 
previous  day.  Thus,  they  keep  the  game  going, 
day  after  day,  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  some- 
times for-  months. 

FISHING  ON  THE  REEF. 

The  people  go  either  in  canoes  or  by  swimming 
out  to  the  reef.  There  the  boats  are  left,  and  the 
fishers  go  out  into  the  breakers,  dexterously  diving 
under  the  spray.  They  go  far  down  under  the 
water,  turning  over  stones,  looking  for  the  shell 
fish. 

This  is  by  far  the  most  dangerous  fishing  the 
natives  do,  as  down  in  the  reef  live  immense  eels, 
called  aMaoae,"  which  are  so  strong  and  fierce  that 
they  can  throw  themselves  out  of  the  water  across 
a  canoe,  and  draw  it  down  under  water.  Often  a 
native  will  put  his  hand  into  the  holes  of  one  of 


A  Terrible  Eel  147 

these  eels,  and  receive  a  sharp  bite.  The  rule  is 
to  hold  perfectly  still,  and  soon  the  hand  will  be 
let  loose,  but  if  this  is  not  done,  the  eel  will  bite  it 
off.  Many  lives  are  lost  in  this  way. 

The  shell-fish  are  found  on  the  under  side  of  the 
reef  that  is  toward  the  sea,  and  when  red  coral  is 
found,  there  is  the  "maoae"  sure  to  be  found.  It  is 
different  shades  of  brown,  flecked  with  red,  and 
when  full  grown  is  about  twelve  feet  long  and 
three  feet  in  diameter.  The  head  is  blunt,  and  the 
tail  not  so  sharp  pointed  as  the  small  eel.  The 
flesh  is  considered  delicious  by  the  natives — even 
white  people  being  willing  to  pay  a  high  price  for 
it — -but  the  man  who  catches  the  eel  must  never 
eat  it  himself,  else  he  and  his  family  would  be  dis- 
graced for  life. 

The  surrounding  houses  must  be  invited  to  par- 
take of  the  delicacy,  which  has  to  be  cooked  in  the 
following  way:  The  eel  is  cleaned,  and  then  burned 
in  the  fire  to  singe  the  skin.  The  men  then  scrape 
it  exactly  as  a  pig  is  scraped,  and  sometimes  roll 
it  in  banana  leaves,  cooking  it  whole.  Again  it  is 
cut  in  pieces  a  foot  long,  and  cooked,  strapped  in 
the  inevitable  banana  leaf. 

Where  the  "maoae"  is  found,  the  beautiful  shells 
of  Samoa  are  obtained.  The  natives  like  to  eat 
the  meat  in  the  shells,  and  until  the  white  people 
showed  a  desire  to  have  the  shells,  they  were  al- 
ways thrown  away.  When  the  fish  in  the  shell 
shows  itself  after  being  put  on  a  hot  stone,  a  string 


148  Shell-fish. 

is  quickly  tied  around  it,  and  it  is  drawn  out.  The 
heat  always  spoiled  the  shell.  Now,  however,  the 
shell  is  buried  in  the  earth  until  the  meat  is  de-- 
cayed,  when  it  is  taken  into  the  salt  water,  and 
thoroughly  cleaned. 

Ordinary  shell-fish  are  found  in  the  bay  of  Fa- 
leulu  inside  the  reef,  their  capture  furnishing  occu- 
pation for  the  girls,  who  must  go  at  sunrise  else 
they  are  thought  lazy.  The  natives  are  fond  of 
the  fish,  and  these  girls  bring  them  in  canoes  along 
the  northern  coast  of  Upolu  to  sell  in  the  various 
villages. 

These  shell-fish  lie  on  the  sand  in  the  shallow 
water,  near  them  being  buried  the  ugau"  in  nests 
of  one,  two  or  three.  These  latter  show  only  their 
mouths,  and  in  whatever  direction  the  head  points 
may  be  found  other  "gau."  Of  course  the  water 
has  to  be  very  still  to  allow  the  fisher-girl  to  see 
the  little  mouths  in  the  sand,  though  they  are  very 
plentiful. 

There  are  many  other  ways  of  fishing,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  being  the  poisoning  process.  The 
poison  is  made  by  grating  together  the  fruit  of  two 
trees ;  it  is  then  dropped  down  into  the  reef  and  no 
fish  ever  escapes.  Of  course  great  care  is  taken  in 
cleaning,  because  it  is  a  rank  poison  for  human  be- 
ings also. 

In  the  rivers,  lay  shrimps,  eels,  and  delicious 
fish  are  caught,  either  by  hands  or  by  nets. 


Using  the  Net.  149 

POPO  FISHING. 

P6p6  fishing  is  done  in  canoes  in  deep  water. 
When  the  people  see  the  fish  in  numbers,  they 
jump  into  the  water,  making  a  great  splashing  in 
order  to  frighten  the  fish  down  among  the  stones, 
where  they  may  be  easily  caught.  This  is  done  by 
the  hands,  the  natives  holding  a  cloth  when  the 
fish  is  slippery,  as  in  the  case  of  eels. 

TITILI    FISHING. 

This  kind  is  done  only  by  the  men.  They  take 
nets  made  from  the  bark  of  the  "mati"  tree,  about 
a  yard  and  a-half  wide  and  some  eighteen  feet  long, 
and,  winding  them  in  a  peculiar  way,  throw  them 
into  the  water.  The  net  falls  into  a  circle,  and 
often  enough  fish  are  caught  at  one  time  to  fill  a 
canoe. 

The  natives  also  go  out  into  deep  water  with 
lines,  fishing  as  the  white  people  do. 

The  women  have  several  ways  of  fishing.  About 
twenty  of  them  will  go  into  the  water  from  the 
beach,  each  carrying  a  net,  and  having  a  basket 
tied  to  the  waist  on  the  right  hand  side.  They 
stand  in  aline  at  right  angles  to  the  shore;  the  one 
farthest  out  and  the  nearest  to  the  beach  go  to- 
ward each  other,  the  rest  closing  into  the  circle. 
They  drive  the  fish  into  a  small  space,  scoop  them 
up  in  the  nets,  and  repeating  the  performance, 
finally  fill  their  baskets.  When  noon  comes,  they  go 
to  a  vacant  piece  of  land,  light  a  fire,  cook  some  of 
the  fish,  and  eat  the  lunch  they  have  brought  from 


150  A  Queer  Fish. 

home.  Then  they  find  a  river  in  which  they  wash 
their  nets  and  take  a  bath;  and  by  that  time  are 
ready  to  go  home. 

The  women  of  a  village  who  fish  in  that  way 
form  themselves  into  a  society,  to  which  admission 
can  be  gained  only  by  the  applicants  giving  a  large 
dinner. 

PALOLO. 

There  is  a  little  worm  like  a  coarse  hair,  about 
a  foot  long,  which  comes  once  a  year,  and  wriggles 
about  on  top  of  the  water  for  a  half  an  hour  the 
first  morning,  and  an  hour  the  next.  The  first 
morning  there  are  not  many,  but  the  second  the 
surface  of  the  water  is  covered  with  them;  after 
the  second  day  they  disappear  and  are  seen  no  more 
until  the  next  year.  The  Samoans  watch  for  them 
with  nets  made  as  fine  as  aladv's  veil  from  the  fibre 

«/ 

of  the  U  (oo-a)  tree.  Some  eat  them  raw,  but  they 
are  generally  cooked  by  rolling  them  up  in  a 
banana  leaf  and  putting  them  in  the  oven;  when 
they  are  done  they  are  in  a  mass  and  can  be  cut  in 
slices  like  plum  pudding,  and  are  delicious. 

The  people  stay  up  all  night  decorating  their 
boats  and  getting  ready  the  night  before  they 
know  these  palolos  come ;  then  they  start  out  early 
in  the  morning  to  the  spot  (there  are  only  certain 
places  where  the  palolos  come),  and  must  be  there 
in  time,  for  the  worm  comes  about  five  o'clock  and 
goes  away  as  soon  as  the  sun  rises.  When  these 
worms  are  touched  they  fall  to  pieces;  but  each 


The  Bread  Fruit.  151 

piece  wriggles  around  and  is  alive.     This  is  a  time 
for  a  great  feast  in  Samoa. 

SNOW. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw  snow  in  San 
Francisco;  I  had  read  of  snow  in  the  Bible,  but 
never  realized  what  it  was  until  I  saw  it  here. 
First  came  hail,  which  I  thought  must  be  stones 
from  Heaven;  then  came  the  snow,  and  I  didn't 
know  at  first  whether  the  flakes  were  little  birds 
or  plaster  falling  from  the  roof.  We  were  out  vis- 
iting, and  on  my  way  home  with  Mr.  Willis  I 
nenrly  froze  to  death. 

FRUITS. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  shade-trees  of  Samoa 
is  the  bread-fruit  tree,  which,  as  everybody  knows, 
is  not  properly  a  fruit  at  all. 

The  leaves  of  the  tree  are  limber,  shining,  and 
sharply  pointed,  something  like  a  holly  leaf  on  a 
large  scale.  The  tree  bears  when  a  year  and  a  half 
old,  a  green  fruit  ranging  in  size  from  that  of  an 
orange  to  that  of  a  muskmelon.  It  is  both  smooth 
and  rough,  the  meat  being  white.  It  is  always 
baked,  either  with  or  without  the  skin,  and  is  an 
excellent  food,  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

There  are  seven  varieties. 

The  natives,  when  the  fruit  is  plentiful,  make 
large  holes  in  the  ground,  line  them  with  banana 
and  bread-fruit  leaves,  and  then  bury  the  bread- 
fruit to  save  against  a  time  when  there  may  be  a 


152  Bananas. 

scarcity.  They  are  then  covered  with  leaves  and 
stones. 

There  are  eight  kinds  of  bananas  which  are  fit 
to  eat  raw.  The  natives  have  a  way  of  ripening 
them  quickly  which  is  very  Samoan.  When  a  feast 
is  near  at  hand  they  cut  down  the  bunches,  bury 
them  as  they  do  the  bread-fruit,  light  a  fire,  calcu- 
lated to  last  a  few  hours,  at  one  end  of  the  hole, 
and  cover  it  all  with  leaves  and  earth.  The  fruit 
is  always  ripe  in  four  or  five  days.  They  some- 
times leave  the  bunches  on  the  trees,  but  not  often 
as  they  consider  that  it  takes  too  long  to  ripen. 

No  banana  tree  ever  bears  two  bunches  of  fruit. 
The  fruit  is  cooked  in  many  different  ways,  form- 
ing one  of  the  principal  articles  of  food.  A  simple 
way  is  to  take  half  a  dozen  ripe  bananas,  lay  them 
on  a  tin-plate,  in  a  table-spoonful  of  water,  and 
bake  them  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes;  when 
they  swell  they  are  cooked,  and  are  eaten  with  a 
spoon  out  of  their  skins.  Another  way  to  prepare 
them  is  to  cook  them  the  same  way,  then  take  oft' 
the  skins,  and  cut  the  fruit  into  small  pieces;  beat 
well  two  or  three  eggs,  mix  in  half  a  tablespoon  of 
sugar,  half  a  cup  of  milk,  and  two  teaspoons  of  the 
juice  that  ran  out  of  the  bananas;  beat  well  in  a  pud- 
ding dish,  and  bake  half  an  hour.  Sometimes  it 
is  eaten  plain,  sometimes  with  milk  or  sauce. 

Oranges  grow  plentifully,  though  sometimes 
dried  and  saved  for  many  months.  When  eaten 
green  they  are  pared  thinly,  a  hole  cut  in  one  end 


Pine  Apple  and  Custard.  153 

and  the  juice  squeezed  out  of  the  flexible  white 
rind ;  or  after  the  green  rind  is  off  they  are  cut  in 
half  and  the  juice  sucked  out  from  around  the 
edges.  The  sweetest  of  all  are  the  ones  dried  in 
the  sun  during  the  day,  and  laid  at  night  on  open 
bars  of  wood  in  the  roofs  of  the  houses. 

The  natives  never  cultivate  the  orange  in  the 
slightest  degree;  it  is  allowed  to  grow  as  it  will. 

Another  wild  fruit  is  the  pineapple,  which,  in 
the  bush,  grows  in  large  patches  that  can  hardly 
be  cleared  away.  When  it  is  cultivated,  the  fruit 
is  larger  and  sweeter.  The  tufts  are  cut  off  when 
the  apples  are  ripe,  and  planted  about  a  yard  apart. 
The  bush  has  leaves  coming  from  the  ground  to  a 
height  of  two  feet,  the  pineapple  forming  in  the 
center,  having  been  preceded  by  a  thistle-like 
flower.  The  fruit,  under  favorable  circumstances, 
is  over  a  foot  long  and  about  six  inches  in  di- 
ameter. The  natives  drew  the  eyes  out  with  their 
fingers  until  the  white  people  showed  them  how 
to  cut  them.  Unripe  pineapples  are  baked. 

The  "Sasalapa"  or  custard-apple,  grows  on  a 
small  tree  something  like  a  young  plum  tree.  It 
bears  two  crops  a  year,  the  flower  being  white, 
shaped  like  an  apple  blossom,  and  smelling  like 
the  orange  flower. 

The  custard  apple  is  irregular  in  shape,  green  in 
color,  the  size  of  a  large  apple,  the  meat  being  a 
soft,  white  custard,  very  sweet  to  the  taste.  The 

seeds  are  large  black  ones. 
11 


154  The  Guava  and  Mango. 

The  guava  ("tuava")  grows  on  the  island  of  Tu- 
tuila  so  thickly  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find 
any  large  area  without  it.  The  fruit  is  yellow, 
ripening  best  on  the  top  branches,  the  best  of  fruit 
of  any  kind,  the  natives  think,  grows  at  the  top  of 
the  tree.  There  is  a  white  rind  inside  the  guava 
which  contains  a  pleasant  tasting  juicy,  red  meat. 

The  "Vi'?  is  like  a  yellow  apple,  but  very  soft 
and  sweet  when  ripe,  growing  on  a  large  tree.  One 
way  of  preparing  is  to  grate  the  unripe  vi  with 
cocoanut,  a  good  dish.  They  are  also  pared  and 
baked  in  banana  leaves. 

The  mango  tree  is  a  delightful  shade  tree,  grow- 
ing to  an  immense  size.  On  a  plantation  near 
Apia  there  is  a  beautiful  avenue  of  these  trees, 
which  present  a  beautiful  sight  when  the  trees  are 
covered  with  the  yearly  crop.  The  fruit  grows  in 
bunches  of  fifty  or  sixty  mangoes,  varied  in  color, 
yellow  mixed  with  red.  The  meat  is  a  very  dark 
orange  color,  and  is  so  juicy  that  it  has  been  said 
that  no  one  should  eat  a  mango  in  public  without 
long  practice  in  private.  Foreigners  must  cultivate 
a  taste  for  them,  but  after  that  has  been  done, 
there  is  no  fruit  they  seek  more  eagerly. 

The  "  Nonu  Fiafia"  (fruit  to  make  one  happy), 
grows  on  a  tree  much  the  same  as  a  custard  apple. 
The  fruit  has  a  bright  red  smooth  skin,  the  meat 
being  of  a  pale-green  color,  very  juicy;  it  is  eaten 
like  an  apple,  although  it  tastes  exactly  like  black- 
berries. 


The  Cocoanut.  155 

The  "  Pasia"  vine  grows  with  wonderful  rapid- 
ity. It  shoots  up  and  spreads  quickly,  and  in  an 
incredibly  short  time  the  fruit  has  formed  (the 
flower  is  the  ordinary  purple  passion  flower) ;  when 
it  is  eight  inches  long  and  of  the  color  of  vegetable 
marrow  which  it  resembles  in  appearance,  it  is  cut 
in  half.  In  the  hollow  is  found  a  yellow  jelly- 
like  mass  of  seeds,  which  are  eaten  from  a  caucer 
after  being  sugared.  Sometimes,  when  the  fruit 
is  still  green,  the  meat  part  is  pared,  boiled  and 
mashed,  being  like  summer  squash.  The  white 
people  use  it  in  this  manner  but  the  natives, 
bake  it. 

All  over  the  cultivated  part  of  Upolu  there  are 
hedges  of  lime  trees  and  detached  bushes  are  seen 
everywhere.  Side  by  side  grows  the  citron  on  the 
same  kind  of  a  tree,  the  fruit  coming  to  an  immense 
size,  and  being  in  demand  by  the  bakers  of  Apia 
when  the  Christmas  time  comes. 

Everybody  knows  how  a  cocoanut  tree  looks,  but 
few  suspect  what  can  be  done  with  it.  A  whole 
nut  is  planted  for  seed,  and  in  six  weeks  up  comes 
the  young  tree,  the  leaves  being  at  the  top.  When 
six  years  old  they  bear  and  as  profusely  as  ten 
years  later,  coming  in  bunches,  one  bunch  behind 
each  leaf.  The  duty  of  the  leaf  is  to  protect  the 
young  nuts;  and  when  they  are  old,  the  leaf's 
work  is  done,  and  then  drops  to  the  ground.  Each 
leaf  that  drops  leaves  on  the  grayish-white  bark  a 
ridge. 


156  Value  of  the  Cocoanut. 

When  the  cocoanut  is  wanted  to  drink  it  is 
plucked  while  the  outer  husk  is  green.  The  milk, 
which  is  really  water,  is  clear,  sparkling,  slightly 
sweet,  and  very  refreshing,  the  meat  at  that  time 
being  fit  to  eat  only  with  a  spoon.  The  older 
nuts  are  used  in  cooking  and  for  making  oil  (a  good 
nair  dressing)  and  cobra.  To  get  the  nuts  from  the 
trees,  boys  climb  up  them  much  in  the  fashion  of 
monkeys;  to  see  them  do  so  is  always  a  source  of 
fun  for  the  foreign  children. 

The  cocoanut  tree  is  the  main  stay  of  Samoa;  it 
is  used  for  food,  implements,  utensils,  fans,  bask- 
ets, brooms,  roofs,  and  for  a  hundred  different 
purposes. 

The  leaves  are  used  for  thatching  the  roofs,  in 
making  baskets  and  fans  and  native  shutters,  to  be 
dropped  around  the  houses  at  night.  The  fibres  of 
the  outer  husks  are  used  in  putting  canoes  togeth- 
er, no  glue  or  nails  being  used;  in  making  houseSj 
and,  in  fact,  wherever  string  can  take  the  place  of 
nails.  In  the  natural  state,  it  is  excellent  to  rub 
soiled  clothes  with,  of  course,  using  a  little  soap. 
The  soap  used  by  the  natives  before  the  appear- 
ance of  white  people  was  the  orange  called  the 
•"  Moli  Samoa,"  which  makes  a  good  lather.  They 
*ise  the  lemon,  or  "  tipolo,''  also,  but  more  often  to 
•clean  the  skin,  especially  of  the  head.  A  sub- 
stance that  can  be  used  for  yeast  is  found  in  the 
very  youngest  nuts. 

There  are  many  other  fruits,  nearly  all  of  which 


Vegetable.  15  T 

are  good.  The  islands  are  covered,  the  natives; 
never  taking  any  trouble  to  cultivate  them,  for 
then  the  foliage  would  be  so  dense  that  they  could 
not  get  through  "  the  bush."  Anyone  helps  him- 
self to  anybody's  fruit.  Since  the  foreigners  went 
there  much  land  has  been  fenced,  but  the  natives 
consider  that  they  individually  have  certain  inter- 
est rights  of  property,  and  the  right  to  take  food 
anywhere  is  one  of  them. 

VEGETABLES. 

What  the  cocoanut  is  to  the  fruit  world  of  Samoa,, 
the  Talo  is  to  the  vegetable.  It  is  grown  either  in 
the  shallow  rivers  or  on  dry  land,  foreigners  pre- 
ferring the  latter. 

The  natives  cultivate  principally  the  water  talor 
which  is  more  starchy  than  the  other.  The  crop 
is  a  constant  one,  the  entire  plant  being  made  use- 
ful. The  leaves  go  into  the  favorite  dish,  "  palu- 
sami;"  the  stalk  makes  a  dish  like  stewed  rhubarb, 
The  talo  grows  plentifully  like  potatoes,  while  the 
little  stalk  that  is  left  standing  goes  back  into  the 
hole  it  was  taken  from,  to  produce  again  quickly. 
The  talo  is  baked  plain  or  made  into  a  variety  of 
dishes.  It  is  of  all  sizes  from  a  small  potato  to  a 
large  bread-fruit. 

The  yam  grows  near  rivers.  It  is  a  vine,  with 
large,  outspreading  roots,  the  yams  forming  near 
the  base  of  the  vine.  They  are  immense  bulbs, 
cooked  in  the  same  way  as  talo,  and  considered  by 
the  Samoans  even  better  than  talo. 


158  A  Samoan  Legend. 

Tamatoes  grow  wild,  but  are  only  as  large  as  a 
crab-apple;  in  taste,  however,  they  are  exactly 
what  tomatoes  are  here. 

The  string  bean  is  not  a  favorite  dish  with  the 
natives ;  so  it  is  brought  in  from  the  bush  only  for 
white  people.  It  is  of  a  very  light  green  color,  the 
thickness  of  a  California  string  bean,  but  is  about 
a  yard  long;  they  are  equally  good.  The  vine  is 
like  the  ordinary  one,  growing  to  an  immense  size, 
and  the  leaf  is  rounder. 

The  leaf  of  the  talo  is  the  principal  vegetable, 
being  used  in  many  dishes. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  DEVIL. 

For  many  years  there  was  a  devil  that  lived  in 
a  cave  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  at  Laulii;  he  had 
been  worshipped  a  long  time  by  the  people  of  that 
district. 

Every  one  who  went  up  to  his  cave  was  grabbed 
by  him  and  eaten  up,  and  after  a  while  the  people 
learned  to  go  a  round-about  way  so  as  to  avoid  him. 

There  was  many  gatherings  to  talk  about  some 
plan  to  prevent  this  devil's  eating  the  people;  they 
prayed  continually  and  put  food  near  his  cave  to 
tempt  him;  but  still  people  were  missed  from 
time  to  time.  As  the  food  was  all  eaten  up  too, 
the  people  began  to  think  that  he  ate  the  natives 
because  there  was  not  enough  other  food. 

One  of  my  ancestors  by  the  name  of  Tali  said 
he  would  go  himself  to  this  devil  and  take  all  the 
food  he  could  carry;  and  he  asked  many  others  to 

* 


Frightened  People.  159 

go  with  him;  he  made  all  the  people  cook  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  he  was  to  go,  and  when  the 
time  came,  every  person  in  Laulii  went  up  the 
mountain  where  the  "Great  Chief"  lived. 

He  was  not  at  home,  but  was  out  looking  for 
something  to  eat,  and  as  soon  as  the  people  put 
down  what  they  had  brought  with  them,  they  ran 
away  home  again. 

The  Chiefs  were  begged  to  stop  but  they  ran 
away  too,  leaving  only  my  ancestor  and  his  "talk- 
ing man."  This  talking  man  wanted  Tali  to  come 
away  too,  but  he  would  not  do  so,  and  they  stayed 
near  the  cave  till  they  heard  the  Devil  coming. 

They  heard  the  "Great  Chief"  say  as  he  sniffed 
the  air:  -"I  smell  live  people."  This  made  the 
poor  talking  man  still  more  frightened ;  he  asked 
Tali  again  to  come  and  go  away  but  he  would  not, 
but  said,  "you  may  go  but  I  will  stay  to  talk  to  the 
Great  Chief." 

The  talking  man  could  not  leave  him  as  he  was 
the  protector  of  Tali's  person,  and  would  always 
have  a  bad  name  if  he  left  him  alone  on  the  moun- 
tain. 

When  the  Devil  came  near  he  laughed  and  said, 
"I  will  have  a  good  dinner  after  all  my  hunting; 
you  look  tough,  but  I  will  eat  you  anyway." 

Le,  the  talking  man,  said  "yes,  Great  Chief,  you 
may  eat  me  if  you  want  to,  but  don't  do  it  until 
you  eat  this  food  my  people  have  brought  for  you.'' 

"Oh,  no,  I  will  eat  you  first." 


160  The  Devil  Appeased. 

"But  eat  the  food  first,  and  if  you  don't  like  it 
then  come  and  eat  me."  Tali  and  Le  were  very 
much  afraid  as  the  Devil  came  nearer,  snapping 
his  teeth  and  looking  first  at  them  and  then  at  the 
food,  as  if  he  didn't  know  upon  which  to  begin; 
finally  he  began  eating  the  food,  but  didn't  seem 
to  like  the  first  few  kinds  that  he  tasted,  but  when 
he  came  to  the  bread-fruit  (Ulu)  he  smacked  his 
lips  as  if  it  were  good  and  immediately  ate  all  that 
there  was,  and  said:  ''What  is  this?"  he  was  told 
that  it  was  bread-fruit,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if 
there  was  any  more.  Le  said  the  land  was  covered 
with  bread-fruit  trees,  and  the  Devil  said,  "go 
bring  me  all  you  have,  and  if  I  can  get  enough  of 
this  to  eat  I  will  never  eat  any  more  of  your  peo- 
ple." 

Tali  told  Le  to  go  down  quickly  to  the  people 
and  tell  them  to  bring  up  more  bread-fruit,  which 
they  did;  and,  when  the  Great  Chief  had  eaten  all 
he  wanted,  he  asked  what  Tali's  name  was;  when 
told  he  said:  "It  shall  not  be  Tali;  it  must  be 
Taliula  Le  Sua  Ale  Aitu  (Taliulu,  the  bread-fruit, 
or  dinner  of  the  Devil),  and  your  people  must  call 
you  by  that  name ;  for  if  you  had  not  brought  me 
this  food  you  call  bread-fruit,  I  should  have  kept 
on  eating  up  your  people ;  now,  hereafter  I  will  eat 
your  kind  of  food  and  be  like  you." 

When  he,  the  Devil,  had  finished  his  dinner  he 
said  to  Le: 

"  Now,  what  shall  I  drink  ?" 


Tattooing.  161 

Le  said,  "  Wait,  and  I  will  bring  you  something 
to  drink;"  and  he  climbed  up  the  cocoanut  tree 
and  brought  down  a  young  cocoanut,  and  knocked 
a  hole  in  the  top  of  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  Great 
Chief,  and  said : 

"  Drink  this." 

The  milk  seemed  to  be  very  much  relished  by 
the  Devil,  and  he  said: 

"What's  this?" 

Le  said,  "  It  is  nui"  (young  cocoanut). 

The  Devil  said,  "It  is  good.'  What  is  your 
name  ?"  and  he  replied,  u  Le." 

"No,  you  must  not  have  that  name  any  more; 
the  people  must  call  you  Lenui  (the  young  cocoa- 
nut),  because  you  brought  me  a  good  drink  to 
wash  down  my  dinner." 

They  all  thanked  the  Devil,  and  promised  to 
always  furnish  him  with  the  same  kind  of  food 
and  drink;  and  never  since  that  day  has  the  Great 
Chief  eaten  up  any  people. 

TATTOOING. 

The  Samoans  tattoo  the  whole  of  the  body  from 
the  hips  to  the  knees,  covering  the  skin  so  com- 
pletely with  the  pattern  that  it  looks  at  a  little 
distance  exactly  as  if  the  men  were  wearing  a 
tight  pair  of  ornamental  drawers. 

The  work  of  this  elaborate  decoration  is  a  work 
of  considerable  time,  the  operation  being,  in  the 
first  place  too  painful  to  be  continued  for  any 
length  of  time;  and  in  the  second;  it  is  apt  to 


162  Tattooing. 

cause  so  much  disturbance  in  the  general  system 
that  the  result  might  be  fatal  if  the  whole  were  ex- 
ecuted at  once. 

There  is  quite  a  ceremony,  or  rather  a  series  of 
ceremonies,  for  the  occasion.  The  tattooer,  or 
Matai,  is  a  man  of  great  influence,  and  his  services 
have  to  be  requested  in  regular  form,  accompanied 
by  a  present  of  fine  mats.  His  acceptance  of  the 
mats  ratify  the  bargain,  although  no  regular  charge 
is  made. 

On  the  appointed  day  the  lads  to  be  tattooed— 
aged  about  fifteen  and  upwards — and  their  friends 
meet  in  a  house  set  apart  for  the  ceremony  and 
more  mats  are  presented  to  the  Matai.  Should  the 
youth  be  wealthy,  he  sometimes  gives  a  canoe. 
The  friends  of  the  lads  are  bound  to  supply  pro- 
visions as  long  as  the  operation  lasts.  The  tools 
consist  of  a  set  of  five  "combs"  and  a  little  mallet. 

The  combs  are  made  of  bone  and  are  an  inch 
and  one-half  in  length,  varying  in  width  from  the 
eighth  of  an  inch  to  an  inch,  and  looking  very 
much  like  little  bone  adzes  with  the  edges  cut  into 
a  number  of  teeth.  These  blades  are  attached  to 
handles  about  six  inches  in  length.  The  pigment 
which  is  introduced  into  the  wound  is  made  from 
the  nut  of  the  lama  tree]  it  is  gathered  and  burned 
and  ground  to  a  fine  powder  and  mixed  with  co- 
coanut  oil.  All  being  ready,  the  young  man  lies 
on  his  face  in  front  of  the  operator  and  lays  his 
head  in  the  lap  of  one  of  his  relations,  while  three 


Tattooing.  163 

or  four  of  the  other  young  men  hold  his  legs.  The 
pain  is  often  so  great  and  intense  that  they  groan 
and  actually  yell  with  pain.  In  one  or  two  in- 
stances they  have  been  so  utterly  overcome  with 
agony,  that  after  being  released  they  have  not 
dared  to  submit  themselves  again  to  the  operation, 
in  which  case  they  are  despised  through  life  as 
cowards. 

Having  traced  out  his  pattern,  the  operator  be- 
gins his  work  driving  the  teeth  of  the  comb  through 
the  skin  by  sharp  and  rapid  taps  of  the  mallet ;  the 
handle  of  which  passes  under  the  thumb  and  over 
the  fore  finger,  and  is  used  with  wonderful  rapid- 
ity and  regularity.  The  precision  with  which  the 
Matai  moves  his  instrument  and  punctures  exactly 
the  right  spot,  and  the  regularity  of  tapping  with 
the  mallet,  are  astounding.  By  the  side  of  the 
patient  are  placed  several  assistants,  furnished 
with  strips  of  tapa  (Shapo),  whose  duty  it  is  to 
wipe  away  the  blood  as  it  flows  away  from  the 
punctures  of  the  comb,  and  to  leave  the  skin  clear 
for  the  operator.  Between  every  two  or  three 
strokes  the  toothed  end  of  the  comb  is  dipped  into 
the  pigment.  The  pattern  is  in  its  main  elements 
alike  throughout  all  the  Samoan  Islands ;  but  there 
are  usually  slight  variations  which  denote  the  island 
in  which  the  man  lives  and  others  which  mark  the 
family  to  which  he  belongs. 

About  an  hour  is  occupied  in  executing  a  patch 
of  tattoo  not  quite  three  inches  square,  and  when 


164  Tattooing. 

this  is  done  the  lad  rises  and  another  takes  his 
place.  In  a  week  or  so  the  turn  of  the  first  lad 
comes  around  again,  and  so  the  process  is  continued 
for  three  or  four  months,  according  to  the  number 
of  patients,  not  more  than  five  being  operated  on 
in  a  single  day. 

When  the  pattern  is  about  half  completed  the 
Matai  receives  additional  gifts,  but  the  great  pay- 
ment is  only  made  when  the  last  finishing  touch  is 
put  to  the  work.  Should  the  Matai  feel  dissatis- 
fied with  his  work  (and  as  an  unfinished  tattoo  is 
thought  to  be  most  disgraceful),  the  friends  of  the 
youths  get  together  what  property  they  can  in 
order  to  make  up  any  deficiency. 

During  the  time  engaged  in  the  operation  the 
patients  look  like  most  miserable  beings,  the 
wounded  parts  swollen  and  inflamed  and  display- 
ing as  yet  none  of  the  elegant  pattern  which  has 
been  traced  on  them.  The  lads  hobble  around  in 
all  sorts  of  contorted  attitudes,  fanning  away  the 
flies  with  flappers  made  of  white  shapo,  and  doing 
all  in  their  power  to  alleviate  the  pain.  At  lastr 
however,  comes  the  reward  of  all  their  sufferings, 
and  when  their  wounds  are  healed  their  friends 
get  up  a  grand  dance  and  the  lads,  now  admitted 
among  the  men,  think  themselves  well  paid  for 
their  former  suffering  by  the  honor  and  glory  of 
being  ranked  as  men,  and  by  the  admiration  of  the 
opposite  sex. 


Laying  in  Supplies.  165 

BREAD-FRUIT    PRESERVES. 

These  are  called  by  the  Samoans,  ''  masi."  When 
the  bread-fruit  season  has  come  our  people  watch, 
and,  if  the  trees  bear  more  than  usual,  then  they 
go  up  to  a  place  where  the  fruit  is  plentiful;  the 
young  men  dig  holes  in  the  ground  first,  then 
climb  up  the  bread-fruit  trees,  pick  the  fruit  and 
throw  it  down  to  the  girls  standing  below,  who 
gather  it  up  in  baskets  made  of  cocoanut  leaves, 
and  carry  it  to  the  old  folks ;  some  of  the  women 
keep  busy  cutting  banana  leaves  to  cover  the  hole ; 
these  leaves  are  put  in  the  hole  first,  then  the 
fruit  after ;  when  the  hole  is  full  of  fruit  they  cov- 
er it  with  banana  leaves;  then  take  clean  stones 
and  place  them  on  top  of  the  leaves.  When  this 
is  done  our  people  are  very  glad,  for  they  have  a 
good  supply  of  bread-fruit  should  the  next  season 
or  two  be  lacking  in  fruit. 

THE    TALKING   MAN. 

The  talking  man's  companions  are  a  stick  and  a 
bunch  of  strings  made  from  the  fibre  of  the  cocoa- 
nut  ;  these  the  Tulafale  carries  with  him  wherever 
he  goes;  he  does  not  use  it  in  private  meetings 
of  Tulafales  or  in  meetings  of  the  town,  but  when 
there  are  large  open  air  meetings  he  always  has 
this  stick,  which  reaches  to  his  face,  and  holds  it 
in  his  two  hands  or  in  the  left  hand,  while  he  holds 
the  "fue"  (the  bunch  of  fibre)  in  the  other. 


166  How  Courting  is  Done. 

MAKING   LOVE. 

If  a  man  thinks  he  likes  such  a  girl  for  his  wife, 
he  goes  to  his  best  friend,  perhaps  his  brother  or 
father,  whom  he  thinks  he  can  trust,  and  says: 
"  Now,  my  friend,  I  will  do  anything  for  you,  no 
matter  what  it  is,  if  you  only  do  me  a  great  favor. 

I  love  -  ,  and  will  make  her  happy  if  she  will 

only  be  my  wife."  If  his  friend  agrees,  which  he 
generally  does,  he  goes  to  the  girl  and  tells  her  he 
has  a  friend  for  her.  She  asks  "Who?"  He 
says,  "  I  will  not  tell  you  his  name  now,  as  you 
might  not  like  him;  you  might  like  some  other 
man  better." 

This  man  is  called  Soa  and  Ata,  meaning  a  wo- 
man's necklace  and  a  shadow  of  a  man;  because 
wherever  a  woman  goes  she  wears  a  necklace,  and 
a  shadow  always  follows  a  man. 

He  follows  the  girl  wherever  she  goes,  and 
speaks  of  the  good  qualities  of  his  friend ;  a  girl 
sometimes  has  several  shadows,  and,  of  course,  the 
people  of  the  town  wonder  whose  cause  they  are 
advocating,  but  the  girl  always  denies  that  the  man 
is  a  shadow — only  a  friend.  This  shadowing  is 
kept  up  until  the  girl  says  she  will  have  the  man ; 
then  the  shadow  returns  to  his  friend,  and  the 
future  man  and  wife  are  brought  together. 

OBEDIENCE. 

I  notice  in  America  that  children  frequently  talk 
back  to  their  parents  in  what  I  may  call,  an 
impudent  way;  but  you  never  see  any  such  con- 


Obedience  of  Children.  167 

duct  in  Samoa.  When  visitors  are  at  the  house, 
children  never  speak  to  them  until  they  are  spoken 
to  first  or  requested  to  speak.  They  would  be 
punished  if,  of  their  own  accord,  they  should  at- 
tempt to  take  part  in  any  conversation  or  express 
their  opinions.  When  told  by  their  parents,  to  do 
anything,  they  immediately  do  as  they  are  bidden 
without  for  a  moment  thinking  of  asking  why  or 
questioning  authority.  The  younger  children  wait 
on  the. older  ones  and  from  the  very  first  beginning, 
youth  is  always  taught  respect  for  those  who  are 
older,  whether  of  their  own  family  or  other« ;  and 
the  older  people  get  to  be  the  more  reverence  is 
shown  to  them  a-nd  the  more  influence  they  have, 
if  they  are  deserving  of  it. 

HOUSES. 

Our  houses  resemble  huge  oval  mushrooms,  and 
home  life  is  of  a  somewhat  public  character.  There 
are,  however,  movable  screens  of  plaited  cocoa 
palm,  which  are  put  up  so  as  to  enclose  the  house 
at  night,  on  the  same  principle  as  the  paper  walls 
or  screens  which  compose  the  sides  of  a  Japanese 
house,  and  which  are  generally  removed  in  the 
day  time.  The  wooden  screens  invariably  are  so. 

At  night  the  interior  of  a  Samoan  house  re- 
sembles a  small  camp,  as  large  curtains  of  heavy 
native  cloth  are  slung  from  the  roof  and  hang  like 
tents,  within  which  the  sleepers  lie  on  a  pile  of  soft 
fine  mats,  their  necks,  not  their  heads  resting  on  a 
bamboo  or  wooden  pillow  raised  on  two  legs. 


168  Notes. 

There  is  no  furniture.  A  few  baskets  for  fish 
or  vegetables  hang  about  the  walls,  and  a  few 
bundles  containing  cloth  and  mats  lie  in  the  cor- 
ners. Cookery  is  done  out  of  doors  in  the  native 
ovens,  for  Samoans  have  no  pottery  of  any  sort. 

MATS. 

It  is  not  generally  understood  why  mats  are  so 
valuable  to  the  natives,  but  when  it  is  remembered 
that  they  represent  events  and  traditions,  wars  and 
families,  one  may  realize  what  they  mean  to  the 
Samoan.  They  descend  from  family  to  family  as 
heirlooms;  and  as  some  spearheads,  cimeters  and 
implements  of  war  that  are  now  in  English  and 
foreign  museums  are  considered  priceless  in  conse- 
quence of  the  events  connected  with  them,  so  these 
mats  represent  to  the  Samoans  great  values  be- 
cause of  the  parties  who  have  formerly  owned 
them  and  the  events  connected  with  them. 

TURTLES. 

The  turtle  is  what  may  be  termed  national  prop- 
erty, and  should  a  man  catch  a  turtle  and  carry  it 
to  his  own  house  and  eat  it  with  his  own  family, 
without  letting  the  town  know  and  inviting  them 
to  partake  of  it,  the  finger  of  scorn  would  be 
pointed  at  him  as  one  destitute  of  liberality  or  the 
true  spirit  of  a  Samoan. 

FLOWERS. 

Most  of  the  gardens  in  Apia,  though  uncared 
for,  have  brilliant  flowers  and  shrubs,  and  occa- 


Eating  People.  169 

sionally  a  few  roses  and  geraniums.  The  common- 
est blossoms  are  those  of  the  hibiscus,  white  trum- 
pet flower,  pride  of  Barbadoes,  red  and  yellow, 
marvel  of  Peru,  acacia,  &c. ;  the  Cape  jessamine 
flourishes  well  and  is  much  in  request  with  the  na- 
tives on  account  of  its  delicious  scent. 

TRANSFERRING   NAMES. 

It  is  within  the  power  of  a  Tulafale  to  transfer 
his  name  to  his  son  or  any  other  member  of  the 
family  who  may  be  selected  to  take  his  position. 
For  instance,  my  father's  name  as  Tulafale  was  Tu- 
latufuga,  and  when  he  transferred  the  office  to  his 
son,  my  brother,  then  my  brother  took  the  name 
of  Tulatufuga;  but  at  the  same  time  my  father,  as 
long  as  he  lived,  would  hold  the  power,  but  had  to 
return  to  his  original  name  of  Tafiga. 

AN    ANECDOTE. 

As  an  instance  of  the  ignorance  of  some  people f 
I  will  relate  a  little  incident :  Being  at  one  time  in 
company  with  some  ladies,  it  was  mentioned  that  I 
was  from  Samoa  and  a  gentleman  present  said,  in 
a  joke,  u  one  of  the  cannibal  islands."  A  lady 
present,  with  an  air  of  horror,  remarked  to  me : 

"  Why,  do  they  eat  people  where  you  live?" 

I,  to  carry  on  the  joke,  said,  "  Certainly." 

"  Did  you  ever  eat  anybody  ?" 

"  When  I  was  hungry!" 

"  Oh,  my!"   she   said.     "  I  would   not  want  to 

live  down  there — I  would  be  frightened  to  death." 
12 


170  Seumanu  Tafa. 

I  said:  u  You  need  not  be;  we  eat  only  pretty 
and  fat  people ;  you  would  be  in  no  danger." 
That  settled  it. 

SEUMANU    AND    HIS    WIFE. 

Seumanu  Tafa  (bird-catcher)  and  his  wife,  Faatu- 
lia  a  Upolo  (the  wind  that  blows  across  the  island 
of  Upolu),  whose  pictures  are  given  in  this  vol- 
ume, are  among  the  most  prominent  of  our  peo- 
ple. Seumanu  is  the  highest  Chief  of  Apia,  for 
while  there  are  numberless  chiefs  in  various  local- 
ities, and  also  two  other  Chiefs  in  Apia,  yet  Seu- 
manu is  higher  in  rank  than  any  of  these,  occu- 
pying a  position,  for  comparison,  that  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  does  towards  the  Gover- 
nors of  States  or  Territories  in  America. 

Seumanu  lives  in  one  of  the  best  houses  in  the 
Samoan  Islands,  and  being  a  convert  to  Christian- 
ity, has  only  one  wife. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  prior  to  the  advent 
of  the  missionaries,  the  number  of  first,  second 
and  third  wives  that  surrounded  the  Chief,  was 
optional;  but  the  very  fact  that  Seumanu,  the  prin- 
cipal Chief  has  but  one  wife,  is  of  itself,  an  evi- 
dence that  the  work  of  the.  missionaries  in  these 
islands,  has  been  of  a  practical  and  lasting  value. 

Seumanu' s  wife  takes  a  deep  and  personal  inter- 
est in  religious  matters.  Like  the  Chiefs,  the 
Chiefs'  wives  cannot  speak  directly  to  the  people, 
but  they,  also,  have  their  Tulafales,  or  talking 
women,  with  whom  they  consult;  and  these  talk- 
ing women  express  their  sentiments  for  them. 


My  Niece  Ila.  171 

My  mother  was  the  Tulafale  for  Seumanu's  wife, 
and  I  was  Tulafale  for  Seumanu's  daughter. 

(This  Chief's  wife  would  go  to  the  schools,  and 
through  her  Tulafale,  talk  to,  advise,  and  counsel 
the  children.)  (It  must  be  remembered  that  these 
religious  teachings  in  these  schools,  is  carried  on 
every  day  in  the  week.) 

Mem.  The  name  given  to  the  wife  of  Seumanu 
had  its  origin  as  follows:  Before  the  wind  reaches 
Savaii  it  strikes  the  island  of  Upolu;  and,  as  Seu- 
manu's wife  came  from  this  latter  island,  and  was 
very  acceptable  to  the  inhabitants  of  Savaii,  they 
called  her  after  this  wind. 

ILA   LEGAGANA. 

Ila  Legagana  (a  quiet  fairy,  with  a  smooth 
skin,)  is  my  niece  and  the  Tapou  of  Laulii  and  Le- 
togo ;  her  father  was  a  half-caste,  the  son  of  Henry 
Fruean,  one  of  the  first  white  settlers  on  the 
islands.  When  Ila  was  a  little  child  she  was 
adopted  by  my  father  and  mother,  and  from  some 
peculiarity,  although  she  was  one-quarter  white 
blood,  yet  she  was  darker  than  any  of  her  brothers 
or  sisters. 

My  father,  being  Tulafale  for  Seumanu,  would 
frequently  carry  Ila  with  him  when  he  went  to 
see  that  Chief,  and  Seumanu  wanted  Ila  to  be  the 
Tapou  of  Apia. 

My  mother  had  been  requested  by  the  Chief  of 
Letogo,  who  was  still  higher  in  rank  than  Seu- 
manu, to  let  this  Ila  be  the  Tapou  in  his  domain; 


172  My  Sister  Tafi. 

and,  as  it  would  give  Ila  a  higher  standing  and 
position  to  be  a  Tapou  in  this  latter  location,  my 
father  declined  to  let  her  remain  in  Apia;  the  re- 
sult was  that  she  eventually  became  Tapou  of  Laulii 
and  Letogo. 

She  was  noted  for  her  handsome  looks,  graceful 
form,  and  excelled  as  a  dancer,  and  always  at- 
tracted a  great  deal  of  attention  wherever  she 
went ;  very  genial,  quick  and  witty,  and  possessing 
the  faculty  of  always  looking  well-dressed,  having 
a  natural  talent  for  adornment,  and  making  the 
simplest  materials  appear  attractive. 

TAFI. 

'When  my  sister  Tafi  married  Jennings,  she  went 
with  him  to  his  home  on  the  Quiros  islands  and 
was  received  very  kindly  by  all  of  his  family;  and 
there  a  little  boy  was  born  and  Tafi's  whole  life 
seemed  to  be  wrapped  up  in  this  child. 

One  day  Tafi  left  her  child  sleeping  on  the  bed, 
(which  was  one  of  .these  high  bedsteads  different 
from  what  we  usually  have  in  the  islands)  in  charge 
of  an  attendant  in  a  bedroom  in  the  second  storv 

•/ 

of  the  house. 

Tafi  went  down  stairs  to  talk  with  the  family ; 
while  down  there,  they  heard  a  heavy  fall  and  all 
rushed  up  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  at- 
tendant had  neglected  her  duty,  and  the  child 
moving  around,  had  fallen  from  this  high  bed  on 
to  the  floor;  Daniel's  mother  and  sisters  were  first 
in  the  room  and  seeing  the  child  laying  there  with 


Attempt  at  Suicide.  173 

the  breath  knocked  out  of  its  body,  at  once  cried, 
1  The  child  is  dead!" 

Tafi  following  close  upon  their  footsteps  said: 
"Is  my  child  dead  ?"  They  said  "yes,"  she  believed 
them,  ran  to  the  window  and  exclaiming  "I  will 
die  too"  leaped  out  to  kill  herself,  but  fell  into  a 
banana  tree  which  broke  the  force  of  the  fall  and 
while  it  did  not  kill  her,  yet  injured  her  spine 
severely  and  from  the  effects  of  this  fall  she  ulti- 
mately died. 

LEAVING    HOME    AGAIN. 

On  March  4th,  1886,  we  left  Samoa.  We  had 
to  go  in  a  little  cutter  to  Tutuila,  which  the  Aus- 
tralian steamer  passed  on  its  way  to  San  Francisco. 

The  day  we  left  the  waves  were  rolling,  and  the 
wind  blowing,  and  my  people  were  afraid  I  was 
going  to  be  drowned ;  but  the  captain  of  the  cutter 
was  a  half-caste  whom  I  knew  and  who  said  it  was 
all  right,  and  we  trusted  him,  and  sure  enough,  al- 
though it  was  a  terrible  day  and  we  got  pitched 
around  very  lively,  we  got  all  safe  to  Tutuila  in  a 
few  hours.  After  staying  there  a  day  or  so  then 
the  cutter  went  outside  to  wait  for  the  steamer  as 
the  steamer  does  not  stop  at  the  Island,  but  only 
goes  in  sight  of  it.  After  rolling  around  for  a  day 
or  so,  the  steamer  was  seen  approaching  and  at  last 
came  up  close  to  us,  and  it  seemed  like  a  great 
house  alongside  of  our  little  cutter.  I  was  afraid 
we  were  all  going  to  be  drowned,  and  took  off  my 
shoes  and  my  heavy  clothes,  so  that  if  any  accident 


174  No  Sabe  English. 

did  happen,  I  thought  I  could  swim  ashore  with  my 
little  boy;  but  the  steamer  came  alongside,  and 
after  much  difficulty,  we  were  all  put  safely  on 
board. 

"NO  SABE." 

My  people  had,  as  usual  given  us  lots  of  presents 
of  fruit,  food,  etc.,  and  this  was  also  put  on  board 
with  us.  It  was  very  early  in  the  morning  when 
we  got  on  the  steamer  and  the  passengers  were  just 
about  to  have  breakfast.  One  jolly  old  English- 
man looked  at  me,  and  not  supposing  that  I  under- 
stood English,  pointed  to  the  limes  and  bananas 
and  said,  "You  sabe  them."  Mr.  Willis  told  me  in 
Samoan  to  pretend  that  I  did  not  understand  any 
English,  so  I  shook  my  head  and  said  "  No  sabe." 
Then  the  rest  of  the  passengers  came  and  looked 
at  me  and  my  little  boy  and  talked  about  us,  not 
thinking  I  understood  everything  they  said. 

They  felt  rather  queer  afterwards  when  they 
found  out  that  I  could  talk  English,  too,  and  saidr 
11  Why  did  you  not  tell  us  you  understood  English?" 
I  said  I  wanted  to  know  what  they  thought  of  me. 
We  got  on  very  nicely  and  all  the  people  on  board 
were  very  kind  to  me. 

My  little  boy  was  a  source  of  great  interest  to 
the  other  children.  It  must  be  recollected  that  all 
the  English  he  knew  was  a  few  words  his  father 
had  taught  him.  "I  am  a  California  boy,  you  bet 
your  life."  And  when  the  other  children  would 
say  anything  to  him,  he  would  run  to  me  and  ask 


In  San  Francisco  Again.  175 

me  what  they  said  and  I  would  tell  him  in  Samoan 
then  he  would  run  back  and  speak  these  words,  his 
entire  stock  in  trade,  which  created  a  great  deal  of 
amusement.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  trip,  stopping 
at  Honolulu  for  a  few  hours  and  arrived  safely  once 
more  in  San  Francisco. 

Of  course,  since  then  I  have  learned  much  more 
of  American  customs  and  manners,  and  study  all 
the  time  to  fit  myself  to  be  of  use  to  my  people. 
It  is  my  desire  that  other  girls  of  Samoa  should  be 
educated  and  understand  the  things  I  have  learned. 

I  hope  to  help  my  husband  in  his  desire  to  give 
education  and  improvement  to  Samoa.  I  want 
that  my  people  should  get  back  some,  at  least,  of 
the  lands  of  which  they  have  been  deprived;  I 
want  them  more  thoroughly  to  understand  the 
beauty  and  true  meaning  of  religion;  and  it  is  my 
hope  to  go  back  there  and  be  of  assistance  to  them 
in  these  particulars. 

I  know  that  rny  people  are  quick  to  learn,  of 
good  disposition  and  noble  in  their  natures,  and  I 
see  no  reason  why,  with  the  advantages  of  educa- 
tion, they  cannot  become  a  useful,  intelligent  and 
noble  race;  and  for  that  purpose,  and  to  that  endr 
we  are  now  laboring,  and  shall  as  long  as  God 
gives  us  life. 

(I  was  very  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Webber 
and  his  wife,  who  was  a  Samoan  lady  of  high  caste , 
and  they  were  both  very  kind  to  me;  their  two 
children,  lovely  girls,  were  sent,  when  quite  young 


176  About  My  Book. 

to  Germany  to  be  educated,  and  are  there  now 
pursuing  their  studies. 

I  was  also  well  acquainted  with  Dr.  Steubel,  the 
German  Consul,  whose  wife  was  a  distant  relative 
of  mine,  and  whose  children  frequently  used  to 
come  up  to  my  house  and  play  with  my  little  boy.) 

This  volume,  in  which  I  have  given  the  inci- 
dents of  my  life,  my  childhood  and  youth,  the 
customs  and  manners  of  my  country,  the  scenery, 
its  fruits  and  flowers,  is  published  with  the  desire 
to  aid  in  this  object ;  and,  although  it  may  be  con- 
sidered crude  and  not  written  in  the  attractive 
and  regular  style  in  which  books  are  produced, 
with  strict  regard  for  what  is  called  grammar  and 
composition,  yet  I  fully  agree  with  my  editor  that 
it  will  have,  at  least,  the  merit  of  novelty ;  and  the 
expressions,  while  not,  perhaps,  as  smooth  as  it 
were  possible  to  have  made  them  by  changing  and 
substituting  language,  yet  will  not  be  without 
interest. 

I  thank  all  very  kindly  who  have  perused  these 
sketches  and  hope  their  influence  will  be  to  give 
to  others  a  better  conception  of  my  native  land 
and  to  disabuse  their  mind  of  the  idea  which  I 
find  is  too  common,  that  we  are  a  people  without 
religion  or  without  principle. 

While  we  have  not  had  the  advantages  that  are 
so  familiar  to  people  of  more  favored  lands,  yet 
we  have  had  and  do  have  some  advantages,  and 
among  these  are  a  knowledge  of  God  and  a  desire  to 
conform  to  the  teachings  of  the  Bible. 


Hie  Sabbath  Day.  177 

With  reference  to  the  Sabbath,  the  day  set 
apart  by  God  to  rest,  no  true  Samoan  ever  violates 
that  command;  even  in  the  heat  of  war  the  two 
armies  always  stop  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  this 
of  itself,  show  that  there  is  a  deep  regard  for  the 
God  of  religion. 

I  hope  that  my  readers  will  think  kindly  of  Sa- 
moa and  of  the  people  whom  I  represent  and  if  this 
shall  be  the  result  of  the  publishing  of  this  volume, 
my  prayer  will  have  been  heard  and  all  my  desires 
will  be  satisfied. 


LETTER  FROM  LAULIl's  BROTHER,  THE  TULAFALE  OF  APIA. 

JALUIT,  Nov.  20,  1888. 

LAULII.  My  Dear  Sister  Laulil  and  Brother  Alex: 
Many  time  I  was  thinking  of  you  both  also  with  your 
little  Alex.  I  wish  I  could  see  you  all.  Some  how 
or  other,  if  I  am  sitting  alone  and  thinking  of  you 
and  our  family  at  home  and  my  dear  mother,  some 
time  I  thought  I  see  all  your  faces  and  hear  all 
your  voices  talking,  and  soon  then  I  just  come  to 
myself  again,  then  I  find  out  I  am  only  dreaming, 
arid  in  a  place  call  prison ;  then  I  cry  and  the  tears 
comes  running  down  my  eyes,  and  there  is  no  one 
to  tell  my  trouble;  then  I  thought  it  is  no  use  to 
cry,  because  I  know  God  is  doing  everything  for 
the  best. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  the  whole  trouble.  Dear 
Laulii,  I  have  received  your  letter  which  you  wrote 
me  when  I  was  in  Honolulu,  I  received  it  on  the 


178  The  Tula/aids  Letter. 

15th  inst.  of  Jan.  A.  D.,  1888,  while  I  am  in 
prison  in  Apia. 

I  read  your  letter  with  a  hard  cry;  to  think  of 
my  own  little  sister  giving  me  a  good  advice  which 
I  am  foolish  to  not  listen  many  years  ago.  Yes, 
Laulii,  if  I  take  Alex's  advice,  I  am  better  off  to- 
day, I  think;  although  we  could  not  tell  what  is 
come  ahead  of  us  all  the  time ;  Laulii  take  your 
Bible  and  read  what  you  will  find  our  Lord's  word 
saying  in  Matthew,  chap.  5,  third  verse,  and  then 
you  will  see ;  that  chapter  I  never  get  tired  of  read- 
ing it  over  and  over,  and  I  think  it  shows  in  this 
God's  power  and  his  wonderful  love,  for  we  must 
not  feel  heart-broken  to  anything  whatever,  be- 
cause God  is  doing  everything  for  the  best. 

On  Dec.  23d,  1887,  I  was  imprisoned,  then  I  re- 
mained there  till  Jan.  28th,  1888,  then  myself  and 
two  others,  Asi  and  Mauga  were  taken  away 

o  •/ 

to  a  small  German  cutter  called  Ataf  u — taken  away 
from  our  own  home  to  another  island,  which  is 
called  Jaluit;  and  Laulii,  you  don't  know  what 
hard  life  is;  I  never  knew  before.  This  is  a  hard,, 
hard  place  I  ever  was  in  in  my  life.  We  are  al- 
most starved  to  death  of  wanting  of  food  and 
clothes.  We  are  trying  to  find  our  own  food  and 
everything  that  we  are  needed ;  but  we  don't  mind 
that  at  all,  only  is  we  want  to  know  what  the 
German  government  are  doing  to  us.  But  it 
don't  matter  how  hard  we  are  treated  and  suf- 
fering; we  can  stand  all  this  if  they  only  take  us 


Dr.  Wood's  Opinion.  179 

back  to  Samoa.     We  don't  think  then  of  our  hard 
time  at  all. 

We  are  praying  for  you  and  your  husband ;  let 
Alex,  try  his  best  to  talk  and  explain  to  the  Amer- 
ican people  and  their  government,  to  see  if  they 
could  help  us,  and  try  to  find  out  the  reason  why 
the  German  is  carrying  everything  with  high  hand 
in  Samoa. 

We  are  talking  and  talking  over  and  over  among 
ourselves  here  and  trying  to  find  out  what  wrong 
we  have  done  that  caused  us  to  be  taken  away.  But 
we  can  not  make  out  anything  except  that  we  are 
in  prison  and  taken  away  from  our  own  family.  We 
are  not  feeling  well  here,  we  ain't  used  to  this  cli- 
mate. 

Mauga  and  Asi  join  with  me  love  to  you  both 
with  lots  of  kiss  to  little  Alex. 

Believe  me  your  loving  brother, 

TUILETUFUGA. 

DR.  WOOD'S  OPINION. 

11  The  Samoans  are  a  fine  race  of  people,  of  more 
than  average  stature  and  peculiarly  well  made; 
their  skin  is  smooth  and  soft  and  light  brown  in 
color,  and  the  hair,  though  copious,  possesses  none 
of  that  wooliness  which  distinguishes  the  hair  of 
the  Papuan  races,  but  is  long,  straight,  and  in  a 
few  cases,  possesses  a  slight  wave. 

Naturally  there  is  but  little  beard,  and  the  Sa- 
moan  takes  great  pride  in  extirpating  every  sign 
of  a  hair  upon  his  chin.  He  is  quiet,  composed, 


180  Hospitality  and  Courtesy. 

and  stately  in  manner,  so  that  in  all  things  he 
presents  a  bold  contrast  to  the  black,  harsh-skinned 
Fijian,  with  his  fuzzed  and  wooly  hair,  his  copious 
beard  and  his  quick,  restless,  suspicious  manner. 

The  Samoans  are  hospitable,  affectionate,  honest 
and  courteous,  and  have  well  been  described  as  a 
nation  of  gentlemen.  Towards  strangers  they  dis- 
play a  liberality  which  contrasts  greatly  with  the 
cruel  and  blood-thirsty  customs  of  the  Papuan 
tribes.  The  Fijians,  for  example,  do  all  in  their 
power  to  repel  strangers  from  their  shores,  either 
driving  them  off,  or  killing  and  eating  them.  The 
Samoans,  on  the  contrary,  welcome  strangers,  allot 
to  them  their  best  houses,  give  them  the  best  food 
and  make  them  feel  that  they  are  honored  guests. 
They  are  singularly  affectionate  in  their  disposition 
and  as  parents,  are  rather  too  fond  of  their  chil- 
dren. 

Courtesy  is,  among  the  Samoans  reckoned  as 
one  of  the  duties  of  life.  They  address  by  title  of 
honor,  and  it  is  considered  as  an  essential  point  of 
etiquette  that  when  one  man  addresses  another,  he 
should  use  a  title  rather  higher  than  that  which 
the  other  would  claim.  Should  he  be  ignorant  of 
the  rank  of  the  person  he  addresses,  he  uses  the 
term  "Chief"  as  a  safe  one. 

The  earlier  voyagers  have  all  been  struck  with 
the  gentle  demeanor,  perfect  honesty,  scrupulous 
cleanliness,  graceful  costume  and  polished  manner 
of  the  Samoans. 


Alexander  A.  Willis.  181 

When  Messrs.  Williams  and  Barth  visited  these 
islands  they  were  received  in  a  most  hospitable 
manner.  As  they  went  on  shore  the  former  hap- 
pened to  mention  that  he  was  tired,  when  a  young- 
chief  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  people,  and  in 
a  moment  the  visitor  was  lifted  off  the  ground  by  a 
number  of  gigantic  young  men,  and  sprawling  at 
full  length  on  their  extended  hands  was  carried 
for  about  a  mile  and  deposited  safely  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Chief  and  his  wife. — Dr.  WOOD. 


ALEXANDER  A.  WILLIS. 

(As  indicated  in  the  introduction,  the  editor  of 
this  work  prefers  to  present,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
exact  language,  ideas,  and  expressions  of  the  par- 
ties themselves.  This  chapter  in  regard  to  Mr. 
Willis  will  form  no  exception  to  that  rule,  and  the 
reader  will,  therefore,  please  imagine  that  Mr  Wil- 
lis is  speaking  and  not  the  editor.) 

I  was  born  in  Bathurst,  New  Brunswick,  Domin- 
ion of  Canada,  in  the  year  1848.  My  father  wras 
born  in  New  Castle  upon  Tyne,  England;  My 
mother  in  Bathurst,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent. 

I  suppose  that  there  is  some  good  reason  for  ev- 
erything, at  least  this  is  what  I  have  always  been 
taught,  and  I  suppose  that  there  was  some  reason 
why  in  early  life  about  the  first  book  I  was  able  to 
read  was  the  life  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  Like  thous- 
ands of  other  children,  I  became  fascinated  with  the 
idea  of  living  on  some  far  away  island,  solitary  and 
alone,  unless  (which  I  thought  very  possible)  I  could 


182  Wanted  a  Desert  Island. 

find  a  man  Friday  to  keep  me  company.  The  idea 
of  living  in  a  hut,  owning  goats,  and  having  a 
whole  island  of  my  own  like  Crusoe  did,  seemed 
to  me  the  most  exalted  position  in  the  world>  and 
filled  with  this  idea,  I  asked  my  mother,  who  had 
been  a  school  teacher  before  her  marriage,  and  was 
fully  acquainted  with  geography  and  the  location 
of  the  various  countries  of  the  world,  if  she  could 
tell  me  where  I  could  find  an  island  like  Robinson 
Crusoe's. 

Amused  at  the  question,  she  said:  "My  boy,  take 
a  handful  of  peas,  find  a  small  pond  of  water, 
throw  the  peas  into  the  water  and  you  will  get  an 
idea  of  the  large  number  of  islands  that  are  located 
in  the  South  Pacific  ocean;  now  go  and  find  your 
island." 

I  was  somewhat  disappointed  at  the  answer,  and 
the  apparent  difficulty  of  finding  what  I  desired. 
While  I  said  no  more  to  her  about  it,  yet  I  did 
not  forget. 

During  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States,  I 
read  eagerly  the  accounts  of  the  battles  and  be- 
came possessed  with  a  desire  to  go  to  that  country, 
which  it  seemed  to  me  had  so  many  people  and 
such  a  wonderful  people. 

I  was  now  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  this 
restless  disposition  of  mine  resulted  in  my  leaving 
home  and  going  to  work  with  a  farmer  for  four 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  I  determined  I 
would  go  to  the  United  States.  I  returned  home 


My  First  Recommendation.  183 

when  my  time  was  out  with  the  farmer,  and  brought 
with  me  the  following  document,  which  I  assure 
you  I  valued  as  highly  as  did  ever  a  graduate  from 
the  most  celebrated  university. 

''To  all  whom  it  may  concern:  This  is  to  certify 
that  the  bearer,  Alexander  Willis,  worked  with  me 
for  four  years  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a 
farmer;  but  having  changed  his  mind  lately,  and 
wishing  to  learn  a  trade,  he  leaves  me  with  my 
best  wishes  for  his  well-being;  and  whose  ever 
hands  he  may  fall  into,  they  will  find  him  of  sober 
habits,  faithful  and  honest,  and  willing  to  be  in- 
structed in  whatever  trade  he  may  choose  to  fol- 
low." THOS.  MATHISON. 

Bathurst,  Somerset  Vale,  June  7th,  1864. 

I  consulted  mother  about  making  the  journey; 
she  seemed  to  favor  my  desire,  but  my  father  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  it ;  however,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  mother,  he  finally  consented. 

When  I  was  leaving  home  my  parents  gave  me 
some  brief  but  pithy  counsel.  Father  said:  "My 
son,  be  always  honest  and  just ;  do  as  you  agree  to ; 
be  slow  in  making  promises,  but  keep  what  prom- 
ises you  make ;  never  cheat  your  stomach  for  your 
back;  be  careful  what  you  write,  and  be  very  care- 
ful never  to  destroy  a  piece  of  writing  that  you 
think  may  be  of  benefit  to  you  in  after  life."  My 
mother  parted  with  me  with  great  reluctance;  she 
said  but  little  but  made  one  earnest  request,  which 
I  agreed  to  comply  with;  that  was  "to  go  to  church 
every  Sunday." 


184  "Go  to  Church  on  Sunday." 

Oftentimes  in  traveling  by  land  or  water;  often- 
times when  surrounded  by  adverse  circumstances; 
oftentimes  when  temptations  have  beset  my  path- 
way, yes,  and  when  I  have  yielded  to  them,  when 
Sunday  came,  I  have  thought  of  this  request  of  my 
mother's  and  while  I  claim  but  little  for  myself,  I 
am  satisfied  that  I  have  been  a  better  man  because 
of  that  request,  and  because  of  my  endeavors  to 
comply  with  it.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  a  man 
remembers  the  simple  prayers  his  mother  taught 
him  when  a  child  much  better  than  the  eloquent 
sermons  and  more  polished  invocations  that  talent 
offers  to  his  understanding  in  his  riper  years,  and 
I  believe  this  is  true.  In  business  life  among  men 
and  things,  many  contracts  have  been  made,  prom- 
ises given  and  performed,  deeds  essayed  and  ac- 
complished, hundreds  of  matters  appeared  and 
vanished,  and  most  of  them  if  not  all,  been  forgot- 
ten, but  to  the  last  day  of  my  life  I  will  never 
forget  the  earnest  request  of  my  mother  when  I 
left  my  home:  ''My  son,  go  to  church  every 
Sunday." 

I  arrived  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  with  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  William  Underwood  &  Co. ;  with 
timid  footsteps  and  rather  sinking  heart  I  went  to 
their  place  of  business,  presented  my  letter,  and 
told  them  of  my  desire  to  learn  the  trade  of  the 
carpenter,  which  had  been  the  occupation  of  my 
ancestors  for  generations.  They  received  me  very 
pleasantly  and  used  their  influence  for  me  with  a 


Sfe* 


Ten  Dollars  a  Week.  185 

Mr.  W.  Gr.  Low,  of  Boston,  who  was  a  carpenter 
and  builder  and  he  employed  me. 

I  well  remember  the  first  Saturday  night  after  I 
had  commenced  wrork  with  Mr.  Low;  I  followed 
up  the  line  of  men  to  the  office  to  receive  my  pay; 
he  was  a  regular  down  East  Maine  Yankee,  shrewd, 
kind  and  big  hearted ;  he  looked  at  me — I  was  then 
about  sixteen  years  old — and  said:  "  Waal,  I  swan! 
I  guess  you  can  eat  about  as  much  as  a  full  grown 
man;  about  how  much  money  should  I  give  you  ?" 
I  told  him  I  would  be  satisfied  with  anything  that 
was  enough  to  pay  my  board.  He  replied:  u  Waal, 
I  suppose  you  have  got  to  learn  how  to  work,  and 
I  guess  you  are  willing  to  work  from  the  looks  of 
you.  How  will  ten  dollars  a  week  suit  you  ?"  I 
was  just  delighted,  and  said  it  would  suit  splendid. 
I  thought  my  fortune  was  made,  for  nine  dollars  a 
week  was  the  regular  wages  of  journeymen  car- 
penters in  the  country  from  which  I  came. 

I  remained  with  Mr.  Low,  and  learned  the  trade 
rapidly,  doing  all  kinds  of  work  in  my  line  until  I 
was  twenty-two  years  of  age;  then  my  restless  dis- 
position urged  me  to  go  to  California,  and  argue 
as  I  would  with  myself,  and  dissuaded  as  I  was  by 
everyone  I  talked  to,  I  made  up  my  mind  I  wanted 
to  go  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  so  informed  Mr. 
Low.  He  told  me  I  would  make  a  great  mistake, 
that  it  was  a  terrible  country  to  live  in,  that  peo- 
ple had  to  carry  guns  and  pistols  all  of  the  time, 
and  even  workmen  were  obliged  to  go  armed  when 

13 


186  Going  to  Samoa. 

they  went  to  work,  and  he  thought  any  man  that 
would  leave  Boston  (which  he  considered  the  ''hub 
of  the  universe,"  as  they  called  it),  and  go  to  a  bar- 
barous country  like  California,  was  very  foolish  in- 
deed; but  come  to  California  I  would,  and  did,  and 
obtained  employment  in  San  Francisco  with  a  Mr. 
Edward  Farrell,  with  whom  I  worked  for  some 
time. 

In  1878  my  employer  took  a  contract  to  build 
in  San  Francisco  and  take  to  Apia,  Samoa,  a  large 
cotton-ginning  establishment  and  other  buildings. 
He  appointed  me  to  attend  to  this,  and  I  gave 
heavy  bonds  to  perform  the  business  faithfully.  In 
August,  1878,  the  work  was  ready,  and  on  the  tenth 
day  of  that  month  I  left  San  Francisco  in  a  three- 
masted  schooner,  named  the  A.  P.  Jordan,  owned 
and  commanded  by  Captain  Crack. 

"Uncle  Sam"  and  a  number  of  friends  in  San 
Francisco  came  to  see  me  off,  and  on  my  departure 
they  gave  me  some  liquors,  cigars,  and  other  pre- 
sents. As  I  did  not  use  liquor  I  gave  it  to  the 
steward,  Mr.  Jinkens,  and  we  became  very  good 
friends;  and  he,  perceiving  my  desire  to  under- 
stand about  cooking,  on  the  voyage  gave  me  oppor- 
tunities of  learning  and  I  soon  became  somewhat 
expert  at  that  business. 

I  will  not  weary  you  by  telling  about  the  voy- 
age, it  was  neither  worse  nor  better  than  the  ex- 
periences generally  of  that  kind ;  but  I  shall  never 
forget  the  morning  when  we  entered  into  the  har- 


Meeting  Laulii.  187 

bor  of  Apia.  The  scenery  was  magnificent,  from 
the  water's  edge  to  the  summit  of  the  highest 
mountains  it  seemed  one  mass  of  beautiful,  living 
green  foliage. 

Before  we  reached  port  a  jolly  pilot  came  on 
board.  His  name  was  Axman;  the  regular  pilot, 
Captain  Hamilton,  was  sick,  and  Axman  tempora- 
rily was  filling  his  position.  This  Axman  was  a 
genial  German  and  we  became  fast  friends. 

After  we  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  I  got  my 
first  sight  of  a  native  Samoan ;  a  boat  containing  a 
girl  and  two  men  came  alongside  our  vessel;  they 
came  on  board  and  I  was  surprised  to  find  that 
some  of  them  could  speak  English.  They  were  a 
brother,  sister  and  cousin ;  the  brother  spoke  Eng- 
lish very  well  and  acted  as  interpreter.  Although 
the  girl  was  very  dark  yet  I  thought  she  was  very 
pretty  and  her  bright  black  eyes  made  a  very  tell- 
ing impression  upon  me  and  I  asked  the  interpre- 
ter what  his  sister's  name  was  and  he  said  what 
sounded  like  "Lowlee;"  I  thought  that  was  a  queer 
name,  but  very  pretty,  and  I  told  him  so. 

In  the  meantime  the  girl  had  evidently  been 
looking  me  over  and  seemed  peculiarly  struck  with 
my  bald  head,  for  I  had  lost  all  my  hair  in  front  at 
an  early  age,  and  she  wanted  to  know  why  I  had 
no  hair,  for  a  bald-headed  man  is  unusual  in  Sa- 
moa; I  told  her  it  was  on  account  of  the  "  glorious 
climate  of  California."  She  said  she  could  make 
the  hair  grow  again  on  my  head;  impulsively  I  re- 


138  A  Quarrel, 

plied,  that  if  she  did  I  would  marry  her.  This 
might  be  termed  proposing  on  short  acquaintance ; 
I  don't  know  whether  I  meant  what  I  said  or  not, 
but  I  think  I  did;  and  I  don't  know  whether  she 
took  it  for  truth  and  agreed  to  it  or  not,  but  I 
think  she  did.  Anyhow  I  was  certainly  very  much 
taken  with  the  girl,  and  I  believe  it  is  not  self -con- 
ceited to  say  that  she  was  rather  struck  with  me ; 
be  that  as  it  may,  the  conversation  occurred  ju§t 
AS  given. 

The  party  had  a  lot  of  fish,  and  wishing  to  make 
friends  with  all  hands,  I  asked  them  if  they  would 
sell  them,  and  how  much  they  wanted  for  them; 
they  said  they  would  sell  all  they  had  for  a  dollar, 
and  I  immediately  bought  them. 

My.  friend,  Jinkens  the  steward,  was  also  evi- 
dently taken  with  Laulii,  and  commenced  to  make 
love  to  her;  this  I  could  not  stand;  I  told  him  to 
stop,  I  wanted  the  girl  myself,  and  he  had  no  busi- 
ness to  try  and  interfere;  but  he  persisted,  and  I 
forgot  all  about  his  teaching  me  how  to  cook,  and 
my  giving  him  the  liquor  and  the  good  friends  that 
we  had  been,  and  I  knocked  him  down  and  then 
soon  afterward  I  went  ashore. 

I  was  met  by  a  genial  faced  and  rather  active 
appearing  German  named  Mr.  Bauer,  who  intro- 
duced me  to  Mr.  Weber,  the  head  manager  or  the 
Haupt  Agentur  der  Deutscham  Handels  and 
Plantagen-Gesellschaft  der  Sudsee-Insem  Zu  Ham- 
burg, (the  name  being  on  the  letter  of  introduction, 


Mr.  Weber.  189 

it  was  explained  to  me  as  meaning,  the  South  Sea 
Trading  Merchants).  I  informed  Mr.  Bauer  that 
I  had  dubbed  the  company  "long  handles;"  he 
kindly  informed  me  that  it  would  be  much  better 
for  me  to  keep  such  thoughts  in  my  own  head  than 
express  them. 

We  soon  became  good  friends  and  he  posted  me 
in  the  customs  and  in  a  great  many  peculiarities 
of  the  Germans  and  natives,  he  having  arrived 
some  six  months  previous.  I  was  very  much  im- 
pressed at  my  first  interview  with  Mr.  Weberr 
the  general  manager,  he  appeared  to  have  such  an 
easy  way  of  disposing  of  business  matters.  I  gave 
him  my  letter  of  introduction,  and  he  expressed 
pleasure  at  my  acquaintance  and  hoped  that  I 
would  be  able  to  perform  the  work  for  which  I 
came  successfully. 

I  told  him  I  was  all  ready  to  start  to  work  next 
morning,  and  that  if  he  would  show  me  the  place 
where  the  building  was  to  be  put  up,  I  would  be 
at  work  at  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning. 

He  said  it  would  be  impossible,  as  he  could  not 
spare  the  time  for  a  few  days,  as  they  did  not  re- 
ceive mail  but  once  in  six  or  eight  months  and  the 
one  just  received  would  take  some  time  to  attend 
to;  the  majority  of  their  mail  came  through  by 
way  of  the  United  States,  and  that  I  must  remem- 
ber that  I  was  now  in  the  tropics,  and  should  take 
a  few  days  to  myself  and  become  acquainted  with 
the  employes  of  the  company  whom  I  would  find 
a  very  good  class  of  men. 


190  Tekori. 

I  then  asked  him  which  government  was  the 
best  for  protection,  the  German,  English  or  Amer- 
ican. 

He  replied  that  being  a  German,  he  of  course 
favored  his  own  country. 

I  left  Mr.  Weber  and  was  taken  by  Mr.  Bauer 
to  my  room  and  soon  introduced  to  the  employes 
of  the  firm,  and  then  left  to  ray  own  resources. 

(It  took  me  about  two  years  to  perform  the  work 
which  I  had  been  sent  to  do,  and  which  in  San 
Francisco,  I  could  do  in  two  months.  I  spent  the 
remainder  of  my  stay  in  traveling  to  different 
islands  for  this  firm  which  was  the  largest  in  the 
South  Sea  Island  trade.) 

The  first  evening  a  visitor  called  upon  me,  a  Ta- 
hiti man,  named  Tekori,  who  could  speak  English 
very  well.  I  was  very  much  pleased  to  make  his 
acquaintance,  and  he  spoke  both  languages  fluently, 
and  could  assist  me  in  my  desire  to  learn  the  Sa- 
moan  tongue.  About  one  of  my  first  questions  was 
to  ask  him  who  Laulii  was,  and  he  informed  me 
that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Tuiletufuga  (pro- 
nounced Tu-lee-ta-fo-ner),  who  was  the  Tulafale  of 
Apia.  I  naturally  wanted  to  know  what  the  Tula- 
fale was,  and  this  led  to  my  first  lesson  in  Samoan 
language  and  customs.  Tekori  said  tome  that  his 
own  daughter  would  willingly  teach  me  the  lan- 
guage, but  as  I  seemed  to  express  so  much  interest 
in  Laulii,  as  he  was  a  particular  friend  of  her 
father's  he  would  take  me  to  him  and  introduce 


Meet  Tuiletufuga.  191 

me,  although  Tuiletufuga  did  not  understand  any 
English  and  I  knew  no  Samoan.  Tekori,  however, 
acted  as  interpreter  for  me,  and  Tuiletufuga  gave 
me  a  kindly  welcome.  He  said  that  he  had  heard 
of  me  from  his  son  and  daughter,  about  my  defend- 
ing her  on  board  the  ship  from  the  steward,  and 
he  was  very  glad  to  see  me ;  he  said  that  I  ought 
to  be  called  Leasiosio  (Leo),  which  means  in  "  Sa- 
moa, "  flash  of  fire,"  because  I  was  quick  tempered, 
but  nevertheless  seemed  very  much  pleased  that  I 
had  punished  the  white  man  for  making  love  to 
Laulii.  In  the  mean  time  I  was  paying  more  at- 
tention to  what  Laulii  was  doing  than  I  was  to  the 
conversation.  She  was  making  "  ava"  (kava).  I 
wanted  to  go  and  talk  to  her  as  was  the  custom 
where  I  came  from ;  but  Tekori  told  me  not  to  do 
so,  as  it  was  not  the  rule  in  Samoa  for  men  to  talk 
to  young  girls  until  certain  preliminaries  had  been 
arranged,  so  I  did  not  go  over  where  she  was,  but 
I  kept  looking  at  her  all  of  the  time  just  the  same. 

When  the  ava  was  made,  out  of  courtesy  to  me 
and  my  color,  they  presented  the  drink  to  me  first, 
which  at  once  established  my  footing  in  the  family 
and  on  the  island,  because  the  Tulafale  was  the 
highest  dignitary  there,  and  the  drinking  of  the 
ava  at  his  house,  and  the  reception  of  the  first  cup, 
gave  me  an  established  reputation  which  I  would 
always  retain  as  long  as  I  staid  on  the  island. 

There  is  a  proper  and  correct  way  of  drinking 
this  ava,  in  which  Tekori  instructed  me.  The  bowl 


192  How  the  Ax  a  Tastes. 

containing  the  fluid  is  to  placed  to  the  lips  and  not 
removed  till  'emptied;  these  bowls  are  cucoanut 
shells;  when  emptied  it  is  thrown  from  you  on  the 
mat. 

There  have  been  numberless  descriptions  of  what 
this  ava  tastes  like,  no  two  of  which  seem  to 
agree ;  evidently  the  palate  of  the  party  drinking 
it  has  much  to  do  with  it.  Imagine  a  mixture  of 
Indian  turnips,  gruel,  soap-suds,  slippery  elm,  qui- 
nine, quassia  bark,  opodeldoc,  and  add  to  this  any 
queer  flavor  of  which  you  can  think,  and  you  will 
get  something  of  an  idea  of  what  ava  tastes  like 
when  you  first  drink  it;  but  it  leaves  after  all  a 
rather  pleasant,  exhilarating  and  comfortable  effect. 

After  the  ava  drinking  I  was  presented  with  a 
"Sului"  (cigarette).  In  the  manufacture  of  theser 
which  are  composed  of  tobacco  rolled  up  in  part  of 
a  banana  leaf,  the  natives  are  wonderfully  expert,, 
even  more  so,  I  think,  than  those  of  any  other  na- 
tion. Smoking  is  a  part  of  all  ceremonies,  and  is 
an  especial  act  of  courtesy;  to  omit  presenting  the 
Sului  to  a  visitor  wTould  be  a  signal  breach  of  hos- 
pitality. During  this  time  Laulii  and  her  attend- 
ants had  left  the  room  and  were  out  playing  their 
various  games;  checkers,  or  drafts  as  we  call  it.  is 
familiarly  known  to  this  people  and  they  are  won- 
derfully expert  in  the  game ;  the  board  used  is  the 
same  as  in  America,  it  having  been  introduced  by 
the  English  missionaries  years  ago ;  the  men,  how- 
ever, instead  of  being  round  wooden  ones  as  we  are 


Checkers.  193 

accustomed  to,  are  made  of  large  or  small  stones; 
twelve  large  stones  being  used  by  one  player  and 
twelve  smaller  ones  by  the  other.  These  stones  are 
painted  on  one  side,  red  or  black  as  the  case  may 
be,  with  dye  as  made  from  the  native  leaves,  and 
when  a  player  is  so  fortunate  as  to  get  one  of  the 
men  into  the  king  row,  or  king  head  as  they  call 
it,  the  stone  is  turned  over  so  that  the  red  or  black 
side  shows  and  designates  said  stone  as  a  king.  (I 
remember  well  one  of  the  Samoan  girls  who  would 
baffle  all  my  efforts  to  obtain  a  king,  and  never  al- 
lowed me  to  reach  the  king-head  with  one  of  my 
men ;  when  I  thought  I  had  laid  my  plans  success- 
fully, by  some  skillful  play  she  would  overthrow 
them  and  sweep  the  board,  then  laugh  at  me  and 
tell  me  to  go  back  to  America  and  learn  how  to 
play  checkers.) 

While  talking,  a  boy  named  Ufie,  about  seven 
years  of  age,  came  in  and  brought  me  a  young  co- 
coanut  which  was  sent  to  me  by  the  young  women. 
This  cocoanut  had  a  piece  broken  out  at  the  end 
about  the  size  of  a  dollar,  and  contained  a  whitish, 
pleasant-tasting,  cold  fluid,  which  I  drank  with  the 
utmost  satisfaction ;  the  only  feeling  I  had  when  it 
was  emptied  was  that  I  would  like  some  more. 
This  boy,  Ufie,  I  afterward  taught  the  English  lang- 
uage, and  he  became  of  valuable  assistance  to  me 
during  my  residence  on  the  island. 

Tekori,  seeing  my  determination  to  win  Laulii, 
took  me  to  the  house  of  a  Tahiti  woman  named 


194  Three-linkers. 

Pape,  who  was  a  sort  of  relative  of  Tuiletufuga's, 
and  who,  in  consideration  of  my  promising  to  give 
her  my  washing  to  do,  agreed  to  become  the  me- 
dium of  my  courting,  for  as  is  explained  elsewhere, 
letters  are  the  great  medium  of  communication  be- 
tween the  sexes,  and  she  agreed  to  write  my  love 
letters  and  interpret  those  which  I  received. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  reiterate  what  has 
already  been  spoken  of  by  Laulii.  After  our  mar- 
riage we  remained  on  the  island  for  some  year  or 
so.  and  then  I  determined  to  take  my  wife  to  Aus- 
tralia and  educate  her  with  a  view  ultimately  of 
returning  to  America. 

THE   THREE  LINKS. 

I  was  initiated  in  Pacific  Lodge,  No.  155,  of  the 
I.  0.  0.  F.  in  San  Francisco,  California,  some  years 
before  I  went  to  Samoa,  and  while  at  Apia  met 
two  gentlemen,  residents  there,  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  order,  Frederick  Miller  and  William 
Wallwork ;  I  was  very  much  pleased  to  meet  breth- 
ren of  the  mystic  tie  in  that  far-away  land,  and  of 
course  we  became  very  intimate.  One  evening 
we  three,  having  been  on  a  "cruise,"  wound  up  by 
my  bringing  them  home  to  my  house.  I  was  in 
the  center  with  an  Odd  Fellow  on  each  arm,  and 
when  I  arrived  at  the  house  Laulii  said: 

"What  are  you  three  doing  here?" 

I  said:  "We  are  the  three  links  of  Odd  Fellow- 
ship and  we  are  never  going  to  be  separated." 


Apolima.  195 

She  said:  "I  will  see  about  that,"  and  went  out 
of  the  house  and  brought  back  the  wives  of  these 
two  gentlemen,  named  Mary  Ann  Miller  and  Sarah 
Wall  work,  (native  girls)  who  speedily  "corralled" 
their  husbands  and  shattered,  at  least  for  the  time 
being,  the  aforesaid  three  links. 

APOLIMA. 

During  my  absence  at  the  time  of  which  Laulii 
speaks,  when  her  father  was  taken  sick  at  my  resi- 
dence, I  was  on  a  visit  of  business  for  the  firm  to 
the  island  of  Savaii,  and  having  discharged  the 
duties  there  with  which  I  was  commissioned, 
started  upon  my  return  home,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose, engaged  a  boat  with  four  natives.  On  the 
way,  however,  in  consequence  of  a  heavy  sea  as  I 
supposed,  the  boat  instead  of  going  to  Upolu, 
put  in  at  Apolima.  I  afterwards  learned  it  was  not 
so  much  the  heavy  sea  that  induced  my  native  crew 
to  make  Apolima,  as  the  fact  that  the  crew  them- 
selves had  a  desire  to  see  their  friends  at  this  latter 
point.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  landed  at  Apolima. 
As  is  the  custom  when  a  boat  is  seen  approaching 
from  the  ocean,  the  natives  come  down  to  see  who 
it  is,  and  among  them,  came  the  venerable  old 
Chief  of  the  island  who  greeted  me  most  cordially 
and  asked  me  what  my  name  was. 

I  told  him  "Willis,  the  carpenter  of  the  German 
firm. 

''Oh  no,"  he  said,  "that  is  not  your  name,  your 
name  is  Leo." 


196  A  Misconception. 

I  said  that  my  father-in-law  did  call  me  Leo  but 
he  was  the  only  one  who  called  me  by  that  name. 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  said,  "I  understand  all  about  it; 
your  father  wrote  to  me  and  your  father  called 
you  Leo,  and  I  call  you  Leo,  too." 

They  treated  me  very  kindly,  in  the  Samoan 
fashion,  making  me  welcome  to  everything  that 
they  had,  and  I,  in  my  desire  to  show  my  appreci- 
ation of  their  kindness,  produced  a  bottle  of  liquor 
and  gave  it  to  them,  but  there  was  an  old  mission- 
ary present  and  he  said,  "No,  no  liquor,  no  liquor 
here,''  and  so  the  liquor  was  put  away,  and  we 
had  our  meal  and  enjoyment  and  a  pleasant  time 
and  went  to  rest.  The  next  morning  I  went  out 
to  see  how  things  looked  for  I  was  very  anxious  to 
get  home.  The  missionary  followed  me  out  to  the 
beach  and  said  to  me  in  the  Samoan  language, 
"lelei  le  ava"  (what  he  actually  said  was:  "It  is  a 
smooth  passage  now  through  the  rocks,"  or  in. 
other  words,  he  conveyed  the  idea  that  I  could 
easily  go  now  in  safety  through  what  is  often  a 
dangerous  way  for  boats.)  But  I  misconstrued 
what  the  word  ava  meant,  for  it  is  the  word  also 
that  is  used  for  liquor,  and  I  thought  he  said  "I 
will  go  now  and  take  a  drink  with  you,"  and  was 
somewhat  surprised,  as  he  had  so  imperative  1}'  for- 
bidden the  use  of  liquor  the  night  before ;  but  I 
soon  found  out  my  mistake. 

They  all  bade  me  a  kind  good-bye,  and  the 
Chief's  son  accompanied  me  in  the  boat  to  go 


" Good-bye,  Chief:'  197 

through  the  passage  or  dangerous  way.  He  stood 
in  the  stern  of  the  boat  with  the  oar  which  they 
use  as  a  rudder  to  steer  with,  and  as  the  waves 
rose  and  fell,  would  take  advantage  of  the  situation 
to  urge  the  boat  forward,  or  remain  passive  as  the 
occasion  demanded. 

We  soon  cleared  the  dangerous  point  in  safety, 
and  I  supposed,  of  course,  that  the  Chief's  son  was 
going  to  Apia  with  me ;  but  to  my  astonishment, 
after  the  difficult  waters  had  been  passed,  he 
quietly  handed  the  oar  to  me  and,  saying,  u  Tofa 
alii"  (which  means  good-bye  Chief),  plunged  head 
long  into  the  water  and  struck  out  for  Apolima.  I 
watched  him  swimming  in  the  raging  surf  in  the  dis- 
tance, certainly  not  less  than  half  a  mile,  until  he 
clambered  up  the  rocks,  resembling  nothing  so 
much  as  one  of  the  huge  seals  we  see  performing 
the  same  maoeuvers  every  day  at  the  Cliff  House. 

DEATH    OF    THE  TULAFALE. 

We  shortly  afterwards  reached  Apia,  where  I 
found  my  father-in-law  very  sick,  and  as  it  is  the  de- 
sire of  a  Chief,  when  taken  very  sick,  to  die  beneath 
the  roof  of  his  ancestors,  notwithstanding  his  en- 
feebled condition,  I  removed  him  to  his  own  house. 

I  was  very  fond  indeed  of  my  father-in-law. 
Many  and  many  an  evening  have  I  spent  listening 
to  his  stories  of  his  people,  their  history,  the  inter- 
ests connected  with  the  island,  the  advent  of  the 
white  men,  the  work  of  the  missionaries,  the  wars 
that  have  occurred,  with  details  of  years  of  which 


198  A  Samoan  Belief. 

he  had  a  most  minute  and  correct  knowledge.  He 
was  a  perfect  encyclopedia  of  everything  pertain- 
ing to  Samoan  History,  and  could  describe  accu- 
rately incidents,  not  only  of  his  own  lifetime,  but 
those  which  had  been  handed  down  for  generations ; 
all  of  the  legends  and  traditions  of  his  people  were 
familiar  to  this  wonderful  old  Chief,  and  for  hours 
have  I  listened  to  him  recount  the  stories  of  their 
hopes  and  fears  and  joys  and  sorrows;  from  him  I 
principally  learned  the  Samoan  language,  and  also 
much  that  pertained  to  the  commerce  and  history 
of  the  island,  and  it  was  with  heartfelt  sorrow  that 
I  realized  that  his  time  had  come  and  he  was  soon 
to  follow  his  ancestors  to  the  land  of  the  hereafter. 

THE  DEATH  CANOE. 

It  is  a  tradition  and  a  belief  to  this  day  among 
the  Samoans  that  when  they  "die"  as  we  call  it, 
they  only  "go  to  sleep,"  and  that  as  soon  as  they 
do  so  the  spirit  leaves  the  body  and  goes  to  the 
farthermost  end  of  the  island  (some  imaginary 
point)  where  there  is  always  a  large  number  of  ca- 
noes that  the  spirits  take.  These  canoes  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye  transport  them  to  eternity,  and 
come  immediately  back.  These  canoes  have  been 
so  going  from  time  immemorial  (they  are  for  Sa- 
moans only  and  not  for  white  people),  and  certain 
families  have  their  special  canoes.  For  instance, 
my  father-in-law  believed  when  he  died  that  he 
would  go  to  this  imaginary  point,  and  if  he  did  not 


Tekori  s  Letter.  199 

see  this  family  canoe  he  would  ask  for  it  and  it 
would  be  given  to  him. 

This  will  explain  what  I  am  now  about  to  relate. 

As  Laulii  has  said,  when  we  came  to  the  death- 
bed of  her  father  he  was  very  near  his  end,  but 
still  retained  his  intelligence,  recognized  us  per- 
fectly, and  said  to  me:  "Leo,  don't  cry;  I  am  not 
going  to  die,  I  am  only  going  to  sleep,  and  as  I  have 
named  you  Leo,  you  will  not  be  kept  away  like 
other  white  men  but  when  you  go  to  sleep  you  can 
call  for  our  canoe,  and  we  shall  meet  again  in  the 
better  land  when  we  all  wake  up  in  the  great  and 
happy  day." 

TEKORI. 

I  have  mentioned  Tekori  as  one  of  my  original 
friends.  A  good  friend  he  was,  and  a  useful  man 
to  his  people.  As  a  memento  of  Tekori  I  insert  a 
letter  which  explains  itself. 

(It  will  be  noticed  here  that  the  letter  is  signed 
Kekori,  while  I  call  him  Tekori.  He  was  a  Tahiti 
man  and  for  the  Samoan  T,  in  commencing  proper 
names  the  Tahitians  use  the  letter  K.) 

MULINUU  LAUMUA  0  SAMOA. 

(Head-quarters  of  the  Samoan  Government.) 

August  30th,  1881. 

Oh!  Great  Commander!  the  Captain  of  the  Man- 
of-war  Lacka  wanna. 

DEAR  SIR:  Many  of  time  we  were  talking  and 
thinking  of  you  and  your  noble  and  kindness  to- 


200  Return  to  America. 

ward  us,  and  the  stand  you  taken  in  behalf  of  me 
and  my  people.  I  let  you  know  a  little  news  from 
us;  here  first,  Samoa  is  quiet  ever  since  your  de- 
parture; second,  we  are  so  glad  and  thankful  to 
Jesus,  our  Lord,  for  there  is  many  years  have  past 
now  since  we  have  no  war  or  trouble.  One  week 
from  now  all  the  parts  of  Samoa  will  have  a  meet- 
ing, which  I  will  write  you  all  the  news.  May  God 
be  with  you  and  all  you  family;  King  Maleitoa  and 
Vice-King  Tamasese  sending  their  best  compli- 
ments to  yourself. 

I  will  love  you  for  ever, 

KEKORI. 

P.  S. — Mr.  Willis  the  head  carpenter  of  the  Ger- 
mans, and  his  wife,  is  leaving  here  for  California. 
We  are  very  well  acquainted,  and  I  have  a  great 
respect  for  them,  and  they  will  translate  you  this 
letter  in  English.  KEKORI. 

RETURN  TO  AMERICA. 

We  left  Samoa  in  1881  and  sailed  for  the  Fiji 
islands;  the  journey  took  us  some  five  days;  we 
went  in  the  German  barque,  Sophia,  Capt.  Bushard. 
Just  as  we  had  got  outside  the  reef  we  saw  a  boat 
with  three  men  making  signals  for  us  to  take  them 
in.  It  was  with  some  difficulty  that  we  did  so, 
and  a  man  came  on  board  by  the  name  of  Frank 
Cornwall,  who  had  been  in  some  difficulty  in  re- 
gard to  land  affairs  in  Samoa,  with  McArthur  & 
Co.,  and  was  escaping  with  a  large  amount  of  gold. 
We  managed  also  to  get  his  treasure  on  board, 


A  Good  Swimmer.  201 

after  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  About  this  time 
the  sailors  were  ''catting  the  anchor"  and  in 
doing  so  it  slipped  and  struck  a  seaman  on  the 
shoulder  and  knocked  him  overboard;  the  poor 
fellow  could  not  swim  a  stroke,  but  lay  on  his 
back  on  the  water  like  some  huge  turtle.  I  shouted 
to  some  of  the  crew  of  the  Samoan  pilot  boat  which 
was  still  alongside  to  save  him;  they  immediately 
went  to  his  rescue ;  one  of  the  crew  leaped  over- 
board and  although  he  had  sunk,  managed  to  get 
him.  There  was  quite  a  sea  running  and  it  was 
with  some  difficulty  that  the  rescued  man  was 
hoisted  on  board ;  he  seemed  to  be  perfectly  dazed 
and  wild  from  the  effects  of  his  involuntary  bath 
and  the  captain  instead  of  giving  immediate  in- 
structions as  to  his  treatment  for  resuscitation, 
rushed  down  to  get  his  naval  code  for  governing 
vessels  and  maritime  affairs  to  see  what  were  the 
regulations  ordered  to  be  done  in  the  case  of  a 
drowning  man. 

Laulii's  older  brother  was  on  the  ship  with  us 
until  it  had  gone  some  two  miles  from  the  harbor, 
then  bidding  us  "good  bye,"  he  took  a  header  into 
the  ocean  and  swam  to  the  pilot  boat.  As  re- 
marked, the  Samoans  are  perfectly  at  home  in  the 
water,  and  the  rolling  sea  and  the  distance  from 
shore,  had  no  terrors  whatever  for  such  an  expert 
swimmer  as  he  was. 

FIJI  (FEJEE). 

When  we  arrived  at  Fiji  all  was  excitement ;  a 

14 


202  At  Fiji. 

number  of  British  men-of-war  were  in  the  harbor, 
and  also  the  celebrated  yacht,  Wanderer,  with  a 
party  of  British  nobility  on  board.  Among  those 
present  were  the  two  sons  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  shipping  and  houses  were  decorated,  and 
people  arrayed  in  holiday  attire,  and  everything 
wore  an  aspect  of  a  gala  occasion. 

On  reaching  Fiji,  the  thought  that  once  more  I 
would  be  able  to  "surround  a  first-class  steak,"  was 
the  leading  emotion  of  my  mind,  and  I  immediately 
went  to  the  hotel,  called  for  the  cook  and  opened 
negotiations  by  which  that  luxury  could  be  ob- 
tained, and  I  assure  you  that  after  having  for 
years  been  deprived  of  the  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion of  eating  such  an  article,  the  enjoyment  of 
that  steak  at  Fiji  was  beyond  all  description. 

While  I  had  been  so  engaged,  from  misappre- 
hension or  mistake  the  rooms  that  I  had  spoken  for 
at  the  hotel  had  been  assigned  to  another  party, 
leaving  me,  figuratively  speaking,  "out  in  the  cold" 
as  the  crowd  had  occupied  every  available  space; 
but  everything  favored  us  here  as  it  had  on  many 
occasions  previously  (and  has  since).  There  were 
a  party  of  Samoans  in  Fiji,  who,  knowing  that  a 
vessel  from  Samoa  had  arrived,  had  gone  down  to 
meet  it,  and  finding  Laulii  there  had  literally  taken 
possession  of  her,  her  boxes,  belongings,  etc.,  and 
carried  her,  regardless  of  any  expostulations  on  her 
part,  to  their  own  homes ;  and  when  I  went  to  look 
up  my  wife  at  the  ship,  she  was  gone ;  but  I  found 
that  she  was  in  kindly  hands  and  well  cared  for. 


Captain  Pennell.  203 

We  remained  in  Fiji  about  thirteen  days.  We 
found  that  the  Australian  steamer  was  quarantined 
on  account  of  small-pox  being  prevalent  in  Sydney 
and  therefore  I  abandoned  my  original  intention  of 
going  there,  a  city  which  I  much  desired  to  seer 
and  took  the  steamship  Southern  Cross,  Captain 
Pennell,  for  Auckland,  New  Zealand.  By  accident, 
on  the  voyage  I  discovered  that  Captain  Pennell 
was  an  Odd  Fellow,  and  I  assure  you  it  was  of  won- 
derful value  to  us  on  this  trip. 

ODD    FELLOWSHIP. 

I  used  to  tell  Laulii  that  I  had  thousands  of 
Brothers  all  over  the  world,  especially  in  the  United 
States,  and  they  called  them  Odd  Fellows.  She 
could  not  understand  what  I  meant  by  this  term, 
and  I  could  not  make  her  comprehend  the  tie  that 
existed  between  members  of  fraternal  societies,  but 
when  she  saw  the  kindness  extended  by  Captain 
Pennell  toward  us  on  account  of  my  being  an  Odd 
Fellow,  she  realized  that  there  was  something  in 
it,  but  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  analyze  what  it 
was. 

An  incident  of  Capt.  Pennell' s  kindness  may  be 
mentioned.  The  steamer,  of  course,  was  crowded ; 
Laulii  was  sleeping  in  the  general  ladies'  cabin,  and 
I  had  a  downy  couch  underneath  the  dining-room 
table  in  the  saloon ;  but  the  Captain,  on  learning 
the  fact,  kindly  gave  us  his  own  state-room,  which 
was  a  decided  change  for  the  better  for  us. 


204  A  Darkey  Brother. 

On  arriving  at  Auckland  the  Captain  would  not 
permit  us  to  go  to  a  hotel,  but  called  a  hack  and 
sent  us  out  to  his  sister's,  a  mile  or  two  from  town. 

Laulii  had  never  seen  a  four-wheeled  vehicle  be- 
fore, and  was  somewhat  interested  in  the  way  the 
hind  wheels  kept  up  with  the  fore  ones. 

We  received  every  courtesy,  attention  and  kind- 
ness from  Capt.  Pennell's  sister,  which,  I  trust,  we 
gratefully  appreciated  and  endeavored  in  some 
manner  to  express. 

VISITS   A   LODGE. 

I  had  the  pleasure  with  Capt.  Pennell,  during 
my  stay  in  Auckland,  to  visit  an  Odd  Fellows' 
Lodge ;  and,  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  my  life, 
I  saw  among  the  membership  a  coal-black  negro— 
an  intelligent,  able  man, whose  conversation,  as  well 
as  remarks,  we  all  enjoyed.  Australia  admits  mem- 
bers to  this  Order  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  and 
is  permitted  by  the  general  laws  to  have  the  juris- 
diction over  its  own  membership,  and  can  admit 
any  applicants  that  it  chooses,  which  accounts  for 
the  statement  just  made. 

We  enjoyed  our  visit  here  very  much;  it  is  a 
grand  country;  the  city  is  well  and  substantially 
built,  the  people  enterprising  and  liberal;  and  cer- 
tainly, as  far  as  our  personal  experience  goes,  we 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  their  hos- 
pitable and  friendly  treatment. 

On  the  4th  day  of  October  we  sailed  for  America 
on  the  steamship  City  of  New  York.  Strange  as  it 


King  Kalakau.  20& 

may  appear,  notwithstanding  the  days  we  had  al- 
ready sailed,  and  the  apparent  distance  that  there 
ought  to  have  been  between  Samoa  and  ourselves, 
yet,  some  days  after  we  left  Auckland  we  came 
in  sight  of  the  island  of  Tutuila,  and  the  nearness 
to  her  old  home,  and  the  sight  of  the  peaks  of  her 
native  land,  exercised  such  an  influence  on  Laulii 
that  it  was  about  all  I  could  do  to  keep  her  from, 
jumping  overboard  and  swimming  toward  home. 

In  due  time  the  steamer  touched  at  Honolulu,, 
and  having  some  time  at  that  port,  I  took  Laulii 
to  see  King  Kalakau;  he  stated  that  he  was  very 
glad  to  meet  Laulii,  that  they  were  of  the  same 
race  of  people,  and  invited  us  to  call  at  the  Pal- 
ace, but  time  did  not  permit  the  visit  which  we 
would  have  been  pleased  to  make. 

We  arrived  at  San  Francisco  on  the  3d  day  of 
November,  1881. 

As  in  consequence  of  the  small-pox  being  prev- 
alent at  Sydney,  I  had  been  interfered  with  in  my 
intention  of  educating  Laulii  in  that  country  be- 
fore I  brought  her  to  America;  I  determined  to 
come  home  and  educate  her  here,  and  immediately 
upon  arrival  engaged  teachers  for  that  purpose. 

I,  in  the  meantime,  again  took  my  old  position 
as  foreman  with  Mr.  Farrell,  in  whose  employ  I 
was  engaged  upon  many  buildings,  including  the 
Arizona  Block  and  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall. 

It  was  while  engaged  upon  this  latter  building 
in  1885,  and  while  we  were  at  work  on  the  first 


206  Once  More  at  Samoa. 

story,  that  Mr.  Farrell  one  day  said  to  me:  "Wil- 
lis, how  would  you  like  to  go  back  to  Samoa?" 

While  it  struck  me  as  rather  abrupt  and  unex- 
pected, and  I  hardly  knew  what  answer  to  make,  I 
said:  "I  will  do,  Mr.  Farrell,  just  what  you  say." 

But  he  replied,  "It  is  for  you  to  decide;"  and  I 
said  "whatever  is  most  for  your  interest  I  will  do." 

Without  going  into  details,  suffice  it  to  say  that 
I  again  consented  to  return  to  the  islands  and  su- 
perintend the  erection  of  a  number  of  large  build- 
ings for  the  German  company,  for  which  Mr.  Far- 
rell had  the  contract. 

RETURN  TO  SAMOA. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  islands  I  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  discharge  the  duties  which  had  been 
confided  to  me,  and  for  which  I  had  given  heavy 
bonds  to  faithfully  perform. 

Upon  my  arrival  in  Apia  I  was  well  received  by 
Mr.  Weber,  the  representative  of  the  firm,  who 
assigned  me  to  my  old  position. 

The  island  at  this  time  was  in  a  state  of  turmoil. 
There  were  conflicting  interests,  and  without  ego- 
tism I  may  say  that  I  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
the  status  of  affairs  generally,  not  only  those  of  the 
natives,  but  with  those  of  the  French,  English, 
American  and  German.  I  was  recognized  as  a  friend 
of  the  Samoans,  was  in  the  employ  of  the  German 
firm,  born  an  English  subject  in  Canada,  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  and  connected  by  marriage 
with  King  Maleitoa's  family;  this  gave  me  unusua 


Building  the  Fort.  207 

facilities  for  learning  the   state  of  affairs   on   all 
sides. 

KING    MALEITOA  (STRONG    WARRIOR). 

I  knew  King  Maleitoa  intimately,  and  we  have 
had  frequent  conversations  regarding  matters  con- 
nected with  his  domain.  Prominent  members  of 
his  Government  and  heads  of  Samoan  families 
would  often  ask  me  my  opinion  as  to  what  would 
be  the  result  of  all  this  trouble,  and  I  have  ever 
replied,  just  as  I  believed  then  and  do  now,  that 
the  American  Government,  having  promised  its 
protection  to  the  people  of  Samoa,  would  do  just 
exactly  as  it  agreed  to,  and  that  the  whole  out- 
come of  this  business  would  be  that  America  would 
not  allow  any  other  foreign  power  to  take  posses- 
ion  of  the  islands. 

I  discharged  my  duties  and  worked  faithfully 
upon  the  buildings  that  I  had  come  there  to  erect, 
and  remained  in  the  employ  of  this  company  till 
the  work  was  finished. 

BUILDING  THE  FORT. 

As  Laulii  has  stated,  I  was  ordered  to  build  a 
fortification  at  the  time  that  the  German  war-flag 
was  raised,  and  did  so  because  I  was  an  employee 
of  the  firm  and  was  there  to  perform  such  work  in 
my  line  of  business  as  they  desired  to  be  done. 

The  Samoan  people,  my  wife's  relatives,  thought 
very  hard  of  me  at  the  time  for  building  the  for- 
tification, naturally  placing  me  in  the  ranks  of 
their  enemies  for  doing  this  work,  when,  in  fact,  I 


208  Shoddy. 

was  merely  discharging  my  duties  as  an  employe  of 
the  firm. 

This,  however,  subsequently,  they  all  perfectly 
understood. 

AMERICAN    FIRMS,  ETC. 

During  my  sojourn  on  the  island  this  time,  I  was 
indebted  for  many  courtesies  to  several  of  the 
American  firms  in  business  there,  also  one  English 
firm,  of  which  I  especially  wish  to  allude  to,  viz : 
the  great  firm  of  Me  Arthur  &  Co.  After  they 
bought  out  the  celebrated  establishment  of  Wight- 
man  Bros.,  they  ordered  that  no  liquors  or  firearms 
should  be  sold  by  their  firm  to  the  natives,  and  it  is 
a  principle  of  this  firm  throughout  the  world,  that 
they  will  not  deal  in  liquors  in  any  of  their  estab- 
lishments wherever  located. 

I  also  wish  to  mention  particularly  the  firm  of 
Crawford  &  Co.,  Jennings  Bros.,  and  Moors  Bros., 
of  San  Francisco,  who  are  upon  the  island,  ably 
illustrating  American  thrift  and  energy. 

SHODDY. 

One  thing  that  struck  me  as  peculiar  and  also 
as  almost  an  absurdity,  was  what  may  be  termed 
"  caste,  "rank"  and  "  exclusiveness,"  among  cliques 
of  different  nationalities.  Here,  in  a  little  sparse 
population,  there  would  be  as  much  jealousy  about 
precedence  of  rank  and  grades  -in  society  as  would 
be  expected  in  the  court  of  Queen  Victoria,  and  to 
an  outsider,  especially  an  American  who  had  been 
used  to  the  customs  of  this  free  and  independent 


Interests  at  Stake.  209 

land,  this  attempted  gradation  and  petty  assump- 
tion of  rank  seemed  something  ridiculous. 

INTERESTS  AT  STAKE. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the  vast  inter- 
ests of  foreign  government  "at  stake"  in  Samoa, 
and  the  unsuspicious  reader  perusing  accounts  of 
the  "vast  interests"  of  French,  English,  American 
and  German  merchants  and  residents  that  are 
jeopardized  by  wars,  etc.,  would  think  that  millions 
upon  millions  of  dollars  had  been  invested  and  that 
thousands  of  lives  of  white  citizens  were  constantly 
in  peril.  When  the  fact  is  that  I  do  not  believe, 
all  told,  that  there  is  one  million  dollars  in  coin, 
belonging  to  white  people  at  stake  throughout  the 
entire  island,  or  that  if  all  of  the  possessions  of  all 
of  the  white  residents  that  are  on  the  island  at 
this  time  were  swept  away,  with  all  of  the  personal 
property  and  coin  that  they  have  there,  but  what 
one  million  dollars  would  more  than  cover  the  en- 
tire loss;  and  therefore,  this  "vast  interest"  so 
often  quoted,  and  about  which  it  seems  to  be 
necessary  to  have  so  many  volumes  of  diplomatic 
correspondence,  is  a  good  deal  like  a  castle  in  the 
air,  hung  up  to  look  at,  but  without  very  stable 
foundations. 

It  is  true  that  vast  amounts  of  money  are  made 
by  the  white  residents  and  merchants  by  their 
traffic  and  business  in  these  islands,  and  because 
the  fact  is  known  to  the  world  at  large  that  vast 
amounts  of  money  are  so  made,  the  world  has  got 


210  The  Native  Disposition. 

the  impression  that  business  is  conducted  there  the 
same  as  it  is  elsewhere  and  that  in  order  to  make 
a  large  amount  of  money,  a  correspondingly  larger 
amount  must  have  been  invested.  But  such  is  not 
the  fact.  The  white  residents,  as  has  been  shown 
elsewhere,  have  received  for  certain  things,  espec- 
ially guns,  ammunition  and  liquor,  the  most  tre- 
mendous profits ;  in  brief  they  have  received  a  large 
something  for  almost  a  little  nothing ;  for  a  bauble, 
a  toy,  they  have  received  an  acre;  for  a  gun  with 
its  cartridges,  a  large  tract  of  land ;  and  so  on,  until 
thousands  of  the  most  attractive  acres  of  soil  with 
their  wonderful  fertility  and  heavy  crops,  have 
been  transferred  by  the  natives  to  these  white 
residents  without  a  fair  corresponding  equivalent. 
And  this  is  the  reason  why  the  revenue  or  in- 
come is  so  very  disproportionate  to  the  investment, 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  I  say  that  the  actual 
capital  invested,  in  my  judgment,  will  not  reach 
one  million  dollars. 

DISPOSITION    AND    ABILITY. 

I  have  had  unusual  opportunities  for  studying 
the  customs,  ability  and  disposition  of  these  peo- 
ple. I  made  it  a  point  when  I  first  went  to  the 
islands  to  acquire  the  language,  and  my  marriage 
with  Laulii,  gave  me  a  rank  and  position  and  op- 
portunities not  accessible  to  the  general  citizen. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  think  that  these  people 
are  of  a  lower  order  of  ability;  those  who  are  in 


Maleitoa1  s  Letters.  211 

authority  are  men  of  judgment,  intellect  and  en- 
terprise, brave,  skillful  and  persevering. 

While  their  dispositions  naturally  are  kind,  yet 
when  excited  or  when  they  believe  that  their  rights 
are  about  to  be  trampled  upon,  they  are  fearless  to 
a  degree,  not  excelled  by  people  of  any  other  na- 
tion. 

OLD    KING    MALEITOA. 

The  old  King  Maleitoa,  uncle  of  the  present 
Maleitoa  who  was  deported,  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  judgment,  and  his  writings  and  let- 
ters, his  councils  and  his  reign,  show  favorably 
when  contrasted  with  those  of  some  of  even  the 
most  advanced  in  civilized  countries. 

To  give  to  the  world  a  proper  conception  of  the 
ability  and  patriotism  of  King  Maleitoa,  I  give 
here  two  of  his  farewell  letters : 

To  all  Samoa:  SEPTEMBER  10th,  1887. 

On  account  of  my  great  love  to  my  coun- 
try, and  my  great  affection  to  all  Samoa,  this  is  the 
reason  that  I  deliver  up  my  body  to  the  German 
Government.  That  Government  may  do  as  it 
wishes  to  me.  The  reason  of  this  is  because  I  do  not 
desire  that  again  the  blood  of  Samoa  shall  be  spilt 
for  me.  But  I  do  not  know  what  is  my  offense 
which  has  caused  their  anger  to  me  and  my  coun- 
try. Tuamasaga,  farewell  !  Manono  and  family, 
farewell  !  So,  also,  Salafai,  Tutuila,  Aana,  and 
Atua,  farewell  !  If  we  do  not  again  see  one  anoth- 
er in  this  world,  pray  that  we  may  be  again  to- 
gether above.  May  you  be  blessed.  I  am 

MALEITOA,  the  King. 


212  Maleitoa's  Letters. 

IN  THE  BUSH,  Saanapa,  Sept.  IT,  1887. 

To  the  American  Consul: 

I,  Maleitoa.  the  King  of  Samoa,  I  write  this 
letter  to  you  because  I  am  now  in  great  distress 
on  account  of  Tamasese  and  other  Chiefs;  also, 
when  they  commenced  these  troubles  my  desire 
was,  indeed,  to  punish  them,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  rebellion  they  had  raised ;  but  I  yielded  to  the 
advices  of  the  British  and  American  Consuls,  for 
assistance  and  protection  was  offered  to  me  and  my 
Government  if  I  would  not  do  anything  that 
would  cause  war  in  my  country.  Relying  upon 
these  directions,  I  did  not  put  down  the  rebellion. 
Xow  war  has  been  raised  against  me  by  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  and  they  have  made  Tamasese 
King  of  Samoa.  The  German  forces  and  the  ad- 
herents of  Tamasese  threatened  to  make  war  on 
all  my  people  who  do  not  acknowledge  Tamasese  as 
King.  I  do  not  know  what  wrongful  act  I  have 
done,  and  do  hereby  protest  against  the  action 
done  by  Germany.  But  the  German  Government 
is  strong,  and  I,  indeed,  am  weak;  therefore,  I 
yield  to  their  strength  that  my  people  may  live, 
and  not  be  slaughtered. 

I  shall  now  obey  and  put  "myself  to-morrow  in 
the  hands  of  the  German  forces,  to  prevent  the 
blood  of  my  people  being  spilt,  and  because  of  my 
love  to  my  country. 

I  desire  to  remind  you  of  the  promises  so  fre- 
quently made  by  your  Government,  and  trust  that 
you  will  cause  these  assurances  to  come  to  pass,  in 
order  to  cause  the  lives  and  liberties  of  my  people 
to  be  respected. 

I  desire  to  make  known  to  you  this:  I  fear,  in- 
deed, that  Germany  will  desire  to  compel  me,  as 


Prominent  People.  213 

they  are  now  making  my  peeple,  to  sign  papers 
acknowledging  Tamasese  as  King.  If  I  write  my 
name  on  paper  it  will  be  under  compulsion,  and  to 
avoid  war  being  made  on  my  people  by  the  German 
forces. 

May  you  live.     I  am  MALEITOA, 

King  of  Samoa. 

MATAAFA  (Strong  Eyes). 

I  became  intimately  acquainted  with  all  of  the 
leading  chiefs  of  that  country,  and  among  others, 
Mataafa,  who  is  at  this  writing,  1889,  recognized 
King  in  the  absence  of  Maleitoa. 

Mataafa  is  beyond  question  a  man  of  ability,  has 
been  carefully  educated ;  but  beyond  this,  and  more 
valuable,  is  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man  of  well-bal- 
anced judgment,  thoroughly  alive  to  the  interests 
of  the  people  of  the  islands,  and  persistent  in  his 
endeavors  to  advance  their  prosperity. 

TAMASESE  (Adopted  Child). 

I  also  well  knew  Tamasese.  He  was  Vice-King 
during  my  last  residence  in  Samoa,  and  was,  as  is 
well  known,  put  forward  by  the  German  Govern- 
ment as  the  opponent  of  Maleitoa,  and  claimant  to 
the  kingdom.  He  also  is  a  man  of  enterprise, 
ability  and  determination. 

AMITUANAI. 

My  brother-in-law,  Amituanai,  was  the  financial 
agent  of  Tamasese,  and  of  course,  deep  in  his  coun- 
cils during  the  differences  between  him  and  Male- 
itoa. It  was  to  be  supposed  that  their  councils 


214  Father  Akord. 

and  plans  were  to  be  secret  from  their  opponents, 
but  it  is  a  very  difficult  thing  for  a  Samoan  to  keep 
a  secret  from  his  own  family;  in  fact,  it  is  rather 
looked  upon  as  dishonorable  to  do  so;  and  the  re- 
sult was  that  Laulii,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  my- 
self, were  thoroughly  and  fully  informed  of  all  of 
their  plans,  which  enabled  me,  as  above  alluded  to, 
to  have  a  complete  acquaintance  with  matters  on 
all  sides. 

This  Amituanai  is  a  shrewd,  keen  manager;  at 
first  he  went  with  Tamasese  until  he  was  fully 
posted  as  to  the  designs  and  intentions  of  that  par- 
ty, and  when  he  had  acquired  this  and  his  share 
of  pecuniary  reward,  he  took  400  of  his  followers 
and  came  back  to  the  side  to  which  he  naturally 
belonged  (his  own  family),  and  to  which  he  had 
always  been  loyal,  and  joined  Mataafa  and  his 
forces. 

j.  E.  v.  ALVORD. 

No  one  ever  visited  Apia  from  abroad  but  what 
got  acquainted  with  the  genial  J.  E.  V.  Alvord,  who 
for  nearly  two  score  years  has  been  on  the  island. 
When  quite  a  youth  he  emigrated  with  the  cele- 
brated elder  Booth,  the  actor,  in  a  sailing  vessel 
bound  for  Sidney,  and  was  wrecked  off  the  islands. 
He  got  to  Samoa  and  there  he  remained,  a  talented, 
witty,  genial  genius,  who  could  adapt  himself  to 
time,  place  and  circumstances  with  a  facility  that  is 
rarely  equaled.  He  was  known  by  everybody  and 
frequently  was  acting  vice-consul  of  the  United 


A  Genial  Man.  215 

States.  To  hear  this  man  talk  was  a  treat ;  he  had 
heen  well  educated  in  the  State  of  Maine,  and  pos- 
sessed a  mind  far  beyond  the  usual  average.  His 
house  was  the  headquarters  for  everybody,  from 
ministers  plenipotentiary  to  ministers  religious, 
from  the  boys  on  the  ships  to  the  men  of  the  islands. 
He  claimed  everything  and  everybody  as  his  rela- 
tives and  friends,  and  was  called  "Father"  by  the 
entire  population.  Every  nationality  was  on  good 
terms  with  "Father  Alvord."  or  as  the  Samoans  say, 
"Alafoti." 

As  an  auctioneer  (and  he  delighted  to  occupy 
this  position)  he  was  a  "whole  team,"  and  his  sales 
would  draw  as  immense  crowds  as  the  best  enter- 
tainments. 

In  later  life  he  became  afflicted  with  that  dis- 
ease which  sooner  or  later  attacks  all  white  men 
in  Samoa,  (Elephantiases,)  and  which  caused  him  to 
grow  to  an  immense  size,  weighing,  I  think,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1888, 
something  over  400  pounds. 

After  my  arrival  in  America  from  my  first  jour- 
ney, I  wrote  to  him  and  endeavored  to  persuade 
him  to  come  here  and  make  his  home  with  us,  as 
he  had  been  so  kind  to  me  while  there,  but  he  had 
become  so  attached  to  the  people  and  so  imbued 
with  the  manners,  customs,  habits  and  the  climate 
of  the  tropics,  that  he  would  not  for  an  instant  con- 
template any  change  of  residence. 


216  Officers  of  the  Lackawanna. 

When  leaving  the  islands,  Laulii  and  myself 
went  up  to  bid  him  good-bye. 

He  said:  "I  shall  never  see  you  any  more,  but 
don't  forget  the  old  man." 

His  words  proved  true;  he  has  passed  away,  but 
we  shall  ever  cherish  a  kindly  recollection,  and  to 
use  an  old  quotation,  "Let  us  keep  a  sweet  recol- 
lection of  his  virtues,  and  bury  his  imperfections 
beneath  the  clods  that  rest  on  his  bosom." 

CAPT.    CHANDLER. 

I  must  devote  a  paragraph  at  least,  to  my  ap- 
preciation of  the  practical  good  and  kindness  per- 
formed, not  only  to  myself,  but  to  the  people  of 
Samoa  generally,  by  Capt.  Chandler  (died  in  China 
recently)  Lieut.  Brice  and  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  Steamer  Lackawanna ,  who  spent 
several  months  there  in  1879. 

Many  a  time  we  had  the  officers  taking  dinner 
with  us  at  our  home  on  the  island,  and  often  we 
have  experienced  similar  courtesies  at  their  hands 
on  board  their  vessel. 

They  were  and  are  true  types  of  mankind  and 
noble  gentlemen,  always  prompt  and  willing  to  use 
their  good  offices  for  the  people  and  frequently  in 
a  tangible  manner,  contributing  to  the  prosperity 
and  aid  of  the  various  institutions.  To  illustrate, 
I  here  append  a  printed  programme  of  one  of  the 
entertainments  which  they  gave  in  a  building 
which  I  was  erecting  and  for  which  I  built  them  a 
stage. 


o;.'-.,\   -••  tf   --  \  i'*5Kfflp"**isr7)  4  v  Tn'iif 

®MI  AX,    LI 

•  >ml,i  aSaS1!    '        n  «      W;l 


A  Novel  Entertainment. 


217 


GRAND    COMPLIMENTARY   TESTIMONIAL 

TENDERED  BY  THE 

U.  S.  S.  LACKAWANNA'S 

MINSTREL  AND  VARIETY 


TO  THE 

Protestant  School  for  Children  of  Foreign  Residents  of  Samoa 

AT  THE 

DEUTSCHE  HANDELS-UND  PLANTAGEN-GESELLSCHAFT'S 

NEW  COTTON  FACTORY, 

ON  TUESDAY  EVENING,  SEPT.  30,79 

For  one  Night  Only! 

ON  WHICH  OCCASION  THEY  WILL   OFFER   THE  FOLLOWING 

PROGRAMME: 

Bones  R.  Lindsay.       Tambo J.  Coakley 

Interlocutor A.M.  Farrie. 


PART  I. 

Overture 
Opening  Chorus 
Neapolitine 
Comic  Ditty 
Ballad 
Awfully  Clever 
Annie  of  the  Dee 
Finale 

Orchestra 
Company 
T.  Roberts 
J.  Coakley 
J.  Ford 
R.  Lindsay 
E.  Bennett 
Company 

G.  H.  Purdy 
T.  Heenan 
A.  M.  Farrie 

THE  GOUT. 
Mr.  Clark                          C.  R.  Bennett 
Clem                                 J.  Coakley 

PART  III. 
The  Happy  Old  Couple,  Lindsay  and 
Farrie. 
Double  Clog  Dance  Ford  and  Roberts 
Banjo  Solo                  J.  G.  Griffith 
The  Glass  Tumbler   J.  Jones 

BIG  SIX. 

Lindsay,  Coakley,  Heenan,  Jones,  Ben- 
nett and  Bennett. 

PART  II. 
Many  in  One 
Essence  of  Old  Virginia 
The  Album  of  the  Srage 

LESSONS  ON  THE  BAN.IO: 
J.  G.  Griffith  and  C.  R.  Bennett 

I'se  trabling  back  to  Georgia  R.  Lindsay 
The  Lackawanua  Spoouers    Ford  and 
Heeiiau 


The  whole  to  conclude  with 

TAKING   THE  PLEDGE. 

By  the  Company. 


Doors  open  at  7  p.m.;   Curtain  rises,  7:30.     General  admission  25c. ;  Front 
Seats,  5Jc. ;  Reserved  Seats,  75c.    Children  under  12  years,  half  price. 

Tickets  may  be  obtained  from  Messrs.  Decker,  Volkmann,  Dean,  Williamson, 
Alvord,  and  Hamilton,  or  at  the  TIMES  Office,  and  at  the  door. 

Stage  Manager,  C.  R.  BENNETT. 
15 


218  Notes. 

To  say  that  the  programme  was  received  with 
enthusiastic  applause,  would  be  to  state  it  mildly, 
but  above  all  the  enjoyment  that  the  talent  afforded 
to  the  audience,  was  our  appreciation  of  the  kind 
hearts  which  prompted  the  charitable  entertain- 
ment. 

As  will  be  seen,  this  was  a  negro  minstrel  and 
variety  entertainment  and  the  white  men  playing 
there  and  imitating  the  darkies,  set  the  native 
audience  perfectly  wild. 

A    DIFFERENT    EXPERIENCE. 

C.  F.  Gordon  Gumming  in  her  work  entitled  "A 
Lady's  Cruise  in  a  French  Man-of-War,"  published 
in  1882,  says  that  the  general  instructions  given 
by  the  German  business  establishments  to  their 
agents  were,  never  to  assist  missionaries  in  any  way 
or  shape  but  to  use  their  best  influence  with  the 
natives  to  obstruct  and  exclude  said  missionaries.  I 
merely  desire  to  say  that  so  far  as  my  acquaintance 
with  the  agents  of  the  great  German  firm  was  con- 
cerned, I  did  not  find  this  to  be  the  case,  but  know 
that  in  several  instances  the  missionaries  and  the 
cause  they  represent  received  practical  aid  and 
pecuniary  assistance  from  Mr.  Weber. 

OLD   DOCTOR   TURNER. 

When  we  were  about  to  leave  for  America,  I 
wrote  to  Malua,  to  the  old  Dr.  Turner  (I  call  him 
so  to  distinguish  him  from  his  son  young  Dr.  Tur- 
ner, who  has  his  training  school  at  Apia)  to  ask  him 
what  my  wife's  standing  would  be,  so  far  as  church 


Dr.  Turner's  Letter.  219 

matters  were  concerned,  when  she  arrived  in 
America,  to  which  he  very  promptly  and  kindly 
replied,  inclosing  a  church  letter,  and  also  the  fol- 
lowing note,  of  which  as  a  record  of  interest  and  a 
tribute  of  respect  to  this  noble  old  man,  I  have 
had  afac-simile  prepared: 


in.  A 


220  What  Can  be  Done. 

EDUCATION. 

It  is  an  established  fact  throughout  the  world, 
that  success  and  prosperity  to  a  commonwealth  or 
a  nation  rests  to  a  large  extent  upon  the  basis  of 
education,  and  as  intelligence  of  the  people  is 
greater  or  less,  so  is  their  capacity  to  be  of  good 
to  themselves  and  others  in  the  same  proportion.  I 
believe  that  with  the  surroundings  of  practical  ed- 
ucation, which  can  be,  beyond  all  doubt  imparted 
to  these  people,  and  that  too,  in  no  lengthy  period 
of  time,  they  can  be  utilized  to  their  own  good  and 
to  the  good  of  foreign  countries  to  an  extent  that 
.at  the  present  time  seems  scarcely  possible,  and 
that  this  education,  under  proper  auspices  and 
properly  directed,  will  result  in  the  natives  so 
managing  their  own  commercial  and  other  af- 
fairs, that  it  will  be  not  only  of  great  pecuniary 
worth  to  themselves,  but  at  the  same  time  aggre- 
gate, even  so  far  as  coin  is  concerned — a  much 
more  satisfactory  result  to  the  nations  with  whom 
they  deal  than  at  the  present  time. 

Commerce,  to  say  the  least,  is  now  in  a  crude 
state,  and  the  products  of  the  island  are  not  now 
utilized  so  as  to  bring  more  than  a  tithe  of  the  in- 
trinsic worth  that  is  in  them ;  in  other  words,  they 
are  capable  of  producing  dollars,  where  the  results 
now  are  but  pennies. 

As  has  been  conceded  by  many  authorities,  they 
are  of  kindly  disposition,  quick  to  learn,  and  fully 
capable  of  self-government.  Why  then,  should 
they  not  enjoy  these  advantages  ? 


First  Book  by  a  Samoan.  221 

THE   CAUSE   OF   TROUBLE. 

The  cause  of  the  recent  war  trouble  in  Samoa  does 
not  come  from  the  German  government,  as  a  govern- 
ment, but  from  the  course  pursued  by  Germans 
engaged  in  business  on  the  island,  who,  instead  of 
attending  strictly  to  their  business  and  letting  poli- 
tics alone,  try  to  do  both.  This  epitomizes  the  whole 
matter. 

OUR  DESIRE. 

In  closing  my  contribution  to  this  volume,  I  de- 
sire to  say  that  it  is  my  intention  to  benefit,  as  far  as 
in  my  power  lies,  the  people  of  Samoa;  and  be- 
lieving that  an  honest,  impartial  and  correct  de- 
scription of  these  people,  of  their  manners,  habits 
and  customs,  as  told  by  one  of  themselves,  would 
be  a  benefit  in  that  direction,  I  consented  that 
Laulii  should  give  this  information,  and  that  it 
should  be  presented  in  the  form  of  a  book.  I  have 
carefully  read,  ere  it  has  gone  to  print,  every  word 
that  is  herein  contained,  and  I  pronounce  it  correct 
and  true  in  every  particular. 

There  have  been  many  books  written  upon  mat- 
ters connected  with  the  islands  and  their  people; 
but  this  certainly,  is  the  first  work  of  the  kind  by 
a  native  Samoan.  Laulii  is  the  only  native  full 
blood  Samoan  woman,  in  America,  and  the  only 
one  that  has  ever  left  the  islands  to  be  educated  and 
reside  in  a  foreign  country,  and  my  wife  and  myself 
send  it  forth  with  our  earnest  prayers  that  it  may 
be  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  that  we  love. 


222  Acknowledgments. 

PERSONAL. 

I  desire  to  return  my  sincere  and  heartfelt 
thanks  to  the  scores  of  kindly  hearts  in  San  Fran- 
cisco with  whom  Laulii  and  myself  have  become 
acquainted ;  especially  to  those  who  have  taken  such 
an  interest  in  her  purpose  and  education.  Pages 
might  be  filled  with  the  names  of  ladies  alone  to 
whom  she  is  deeply  indebted  and  for  whose  happi- 
ness her  constant  prayers  are  offered.  God  bless 
them  one  and  all. 

To  the  many  friends  in  fraternal  and  business 
life,  who  have  given  valuable  counsel  and  practical 
assistance  to  me  during  my  residence  here,  words 
can  never  express  how  keenly  their  kindness  is 
appreciated.  It  will  be  the  study  of  my  life  to  be 
worthy  of  them. 

Laulii  and  myself  also  desire  to  here  formally 
acknowledge  our  obligations  to  our  Editor,  Wm. 
H.  Barnes,  for  the  patient,  untiring  attention  that 
he  has  given  to  our  narrations,  day  by  day,  and 
the  able,  and  correct  manner  in  which,  while  pre- 
serving about  our  exact  language,  he  has  formed 
them  into  what  we  believe,  will  be  an  acceptable 
volume. 

To  Joseph  Winterburn  &  Co.,  printers;  to  A.  T. 
Dewey  &  Co.,  engravers,  and  to  Bart  ling,  Phillips  & 
Stilwell,  book-binders,  we  are  indebted  for  many 
courtesies,  excellent  workmanship,  and  more  than 
ordinary  promptness  and  dispatch,  enabling  us  to 
present  this  book  in  a  style  reflecting  credit  upon 
their  handiwork.  ALEXANDER  A.  WILLIS. 


Missionary  Work. 


223 


DR.  TURNER'S  RESIDENCE  AT  APIA. 
PRESENT  STATUS  OF  MISSIONS. 

A  very  able  paper  by  the  Rev.  Greo.  Turner  of 
Samoa,  read  by  him  at  the  Centenary  Conference, 
held  in  London  in  June,  1888,  gives  the  status  of 
his  work  there. 

In  1843  the  Rev.  Greo.  Turner  and  Chas.  Hardie 
were  appointed  by  the  London  Missionary  Society 
to  devote  themselves  to  the  work  in  Samoa,  and 
they  selected  a  central  place  on  the  island  of  LTpolu. 

The  Chiefs  offered  to  give  them  the  necessary 
land,  but  they  insisted  on  paying  for  it,  and  ob- 
tained thirty  acres  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  shillings 
an  acre,  for  which  a  title  deed  was  drawn  and 
signed. 

Twenty-five  youths  were  selected  for  instruc- 
tion, who  put  up  temporary  houses,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 24,  1844,  the  first  class  was  opened.  From 


224  Course  of  Study. 

year  to  year  the  number  of  students  has  increased 
and  additional  land  has  been  purchased,  until  the 
Society  now  owns  some"  three  hundred  acres;  there 
are  now  about  one  hundred  students  in  the  insti- 
tution, which  is  the  average  number  in  attendance. 

At  this  time  the  Mission  has  twenty-two  stone 
cottages,  16x32  feet,  and  thirty-two  feet  apart,  ar- 
ranged like  a  barrack ;  besides  these  there  are  twen- 
ty-five other  cottages.  This  property  is  valued  at 
Ten  Thousand  Pounds,  and  the  Mission  is  almost 
self-supporting. 

The  course  of  instruction  is  in  the  native  tongue 
and  embraces  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geom- 
etry, natural  philosophy,  geography,  geology,  nat- 
ural history,  scripture  exposition,  systematic  and 
pastoral  theology  and  church  history.  Books,  num- 
bering 32  volumes,  containing  ten  thousand  pages 
in  the  Samoan  dialect,  have  been  printed. 

At  this  school  there  is  a  class  in  the  English 
language.  The  term  of  study  is  four  years,  and  if 
a  student  shows  extraordinary  proficiency,  and  va- 
cancies occur  in  what  is  termed  the  teachers'  class 
he  can  take  a  second  course  of  four  years  more, 
which  fits  him  for  the  work  of  preaching  and  teach- 
ing. Dr.  Turner  says,  "many  of  our  best  native 
pastors  are  those  who  have  been  eight  years  at 
Malua." 

He  remarked:  U0f  these  native  pastors  there  are 
over  two  hundred  now  ordained ;  they  preach  and 
manage  church  affairs ;  they  have  boarding  and  gen- 


Present  Prosperity.  225 

eral  schools,  and  are  supported  by  the  people  in  the 
villages  where  they  labor.  They  have  the  over- 
sight of  six  thousand  church  members  and  con- 
gregations embracing  over  twenty-five  thousand, 
all  in  Samoa;  in  the  sixteen  out-station  islands 
from  two  hundred  to  two  thousand  miles  to  the 
North  West  of  Samoa,  native  pastors  have  the  care 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  church  members  and 
of  a  population  exceeding  ten  thousand." 

He  says  that  "while  the  better  qualified  and  or- 
dained native  agencies  have  increased,  the  European 
staff  of  missionaries  has  decreased,  and  the  time 
may  not  be  far  distant,  when  little  more  European 
help  may  be  needed  for  the  group  and  its  out-sta- 
tions, beyond  a  well  sustained  institution  at  Malua; 
and  thus,  we  think,  that  the  problem  has  there  at 
least,  been  fairly  solved  of  a  self-supporting  educa-* 
tional  institution,  and  this  too,  at  a  minimum  of 
cost.  The  Samoan  Mission  Seminary  has  been,  by 
God's  blessing,  a  maximum  of  Missionary  force  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Polynesians,  which  no  man 
can  tabulate;  a  rich  reward  to  those  who  have 
labored  there,  and  to  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety who  has  sent  them  forth." 

(The  above  statement  from  the  venerated  life- 
long worker  in  the  cause,  should  carry  with  it  not 
only  encouragement  to  the  hearts  of  Christian 
workers,  but  a  convincing  proof  that  the  assertions 
so  often  made  by  antagonists  "that  no  good  is  ever 
done  by  missionaries,"  is  absolutely  false.) 


226 


Our  Little  Boy. 


ALEXANDER   TUILETUFUGA    WILLIS 

Is  a  bright  little  boy,  speaking  the  English  and 
Samoan  languages.  He,  like  his  mother,  is  quite 
light  in  color;  rather  restless  in  manner,  remark- 
ably intelligent,  and  learns  rapidly.  His  first 
English  consisted  of  the  words,  "I  am  a  California 
boy,  you  bst  your  life  !"  which  his  father  had 
taught  him,  and  as  is  stated  by  Laulii,  when  com- 
ing on  the  ship  he  used  this  expression  often  with 
great  pride,  and  to  the  amusement  of  the  passen- 
gers. 


The  Language.  227 

The  Samoan  alphabet  proper  has  but  fourteen 
letters:  a,  e,  i,  o,  ?/,  /,  </,  /,  ??i,  w,  _#>,  s,  £,  -y. 

A  is  a  very  prominent  letter,  with  a  variety  of 
sounds,  the  bases  of  which,  however  are,  1st,  long 
as  in  father;  2d,  short,  as  in  mat;  3d,  very  short, 
like  u  in  smut.  In  Tula  fale  the  1st  and  2d  oc- 
cur. 

6r,  which  will  be  frequently  seen  in  this  work  in 
the  proper  names  given,  has  a  peculiar  sound  (nga) ; 
it  is  always  nasal,  something  like  ng  in  sing. 

Instances  of  this  are  Tulietufuga,  pronounced 
Tu-lee-ta-fo-ner;  Toga  (Ton-ga) ;  Pago-Pago  (Pango 
Pango) ;  Mago  (Mango);  Malaga  (Malanger). 

The  vowels,  e,  i,  o,  w,  each  have  a  long  and  short 
sound,  the  i  frequently  is  used  as  e  as  in  Ila  (Eel- 
yer) ;  the  double  i  i  generally  has  the  sound  of 
double  ee  as  in  Laulii,  Hawaii  (Low-lee),  (How-y- 
ee) ;  although  Savaii  is  pronounced  Sav-eye. 

J.M  is  ow  as  in  Laulii  (.Low-lee) ;  while  ouiso,  as 
in  Tapou  (Tap-o). 

The  K  in  proper  names  of  the  Hawaiians  is  T 
with  the  Samoans. 

A  few  prominent  names  and  pronunciations  are : 

Maleitoa — Pronounced  Mal-le-to-er. 

Mataafa — Pronounced  Mat-ta-af-fer. 

Tamasese — Prono  unced  Tam-ma-see-se . 

Apia — Pronounced  Ap-pe-er. 

Tutuila — Pronounced  Too-too-e-ler. 


228 


De  First  White  (?)  Man. 


A    SAMOAN    CHARACTER "  UNCLE    BRUCE." 

A  book  on  Samoa  is  not  perfect  without  some 
mention  is  made  of  the  celebrated  old  darkey 
fiddler,  known  as  "Uncle  Bruce,"  at  Apia.  He  is 
one  of  the  oldest  men  on  the  islands — somewhere 
in  the  neighborhood  of  80  years  of  age.  He  culti- 
vates the  acquaintance  of  every  stranger,  and  has 
a  regular  formula : 

"I'se  de  first  white  man  on  the  beach.  Seeing 
as  its  you,  don't  mind;  gin  and  bitters.  Whar  you 
from?"  No  matter  what  the  reply,  "  Dat's  my 
country;  dat's  where  I'm  from." 


Official  Correspondence.  229 

SAMOAN    AFFAIRS. 

To  give  a  succinct  statement  of  affairs  in  Samoa 
that  our  readers  may  understand  the  political  situ- 
ation, it  is  deemed  of  interest  to  insert  without 
comment,  the  following  report  from  Commander 
B.  F.  Day,  which  is  published  in  Executive  Docu- 
ment No.  238,  50th  Congress,  1st  Session,  and  em- 
braced in  a  message  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  said  Congress  on  April  2d,  1888. 

It  gathers  up  the  entire  situation  in  a  brief,  cor- 
rect and  able  manner. 

REPORT  OF  COMMANDER  B.  F.  DAY. 
[Extract.] 

U.  S.  S.  MOHICAN, 
APIA,  SAMOAN  ISLANDS,  May  28,  1886. 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  arrival  of  the  Mohican  at  this 
port  on  the  19th  instant.  Much  to  my  surprise  I  found  that  the  United 
States  consul,  Mr.  Greenebaum,  had,  upon  the  application  of  the  King, 
Maleitoa,  and  his  Government,  accepted  the  protectorate  of  the  Sa- 
moan  Islands  on  the  10th. 

A  copy  of  the  application  of  Malietoa  is  inclosed  (A),  also  a  copy 
of  Mr.  Greenebaum's  proclamation  (B). 

In  November,  1884,  a  treaty*  was  signed,  but  not  ratified,  by  the 
German  representative  and  Malietoa,  which  created  a  court  composed 
of  two  Germans,  two  Samoaus,  and  the  German  consul.  No  laws 
could  be  passed  iinless  they  had  first  been  approved  by  this  German 
court.  The  English  and  Americans  naturally  objected,  and  when  the 
full  meaning  of  the  treaty  was  pointed  out  to  Malietoa  he  retracted. 

From  this  time  dates  the  unfriendliness  of  the  Germans  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Malietoa.  A  petition  for  annexation  to  Great  Britain  was 
sent  about  the  same  time,  and  this  added  to  their  ill-will.  A  revolu- 
tion was  set  on  foot,  headed  by  the  then  Vice-King,  Tamasese,  and  it 
has  been  fostered  and  upheld  by  the  German  interest  until  it  has  grown 
formidable.  Malietoa  has  been  ready  and  anxious  to  attack  and  sub- 
due the  rebellion — and  there  is  little  doubt  of  his  ability  to  do  so — but 
he  has  been  held  back  by  the  consuls.  The  map  herewith  forwarded 
shows  the  comparative  strength  of  the  two  factions  at  the  present 
time.t 

On  the  23d  of  January,  1885,  the  German  consul  ejected  Malietoa 
from  a  piece  of  land  and  hoisted  the  German  flag  over  it  as  German 

*For  this  treaty  see  supra  No.  3. 

fFrom  this  mup  it  appears  that,  according  to  Commander  Day's  estimate, 
the  adherents  of  Malietoa  numbered  19,000;  of  Tamasese,  1'2,000;  6,500  being  neu- 
tral. 


230  Official  Correspondence. 

property.  This  flag  still  remains,  although  the  Consul  told  me  that 
his  Government  had  ordered  it  hauled  down  as  soon  as  he  could  do  so 
•without  compromising  the  dignity  of  Germany. 

December  31st,  the  German  Consul  as  an  act  of  reprisal,  accord- 
ing to  his  statement,  attached  the  rights  of  Malietoa  within  the  muni- 
cipality of  Apia,  and  ordered  him  to  haul  down  the  Samoan  flag  at  the 
Government  House.  Malietoa  refused,  and  an  armed  force  from  the 
German  man-of-war  Albatross  landed  and  hauled  it  down.  Thus  mat- 
ters stood  until  the  10th  of  this  month,  when,  as  before  stated,  the 
United  States  Consul  assumed  the  protectorate. 

The  fifth  article  of  the  treaty  on  which  the  action  is  based  does  not 
in  my  opinion,  call  for  any  such  course.  However,  protection  has 
been  asked  for  and  granted,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  United 
States  Government,  but  nobody  here  expects  that  the  United  States 
will  accept. 

The  German  admiral  when  here  did  not  visit  Malietoa,  and  in  a 
letter  he  had  occasion  to  write  to  him,  he  addressed  him  as  "The  Head 
Chief  Malietoa."  He  took  the  trouble,  however  to  go  down  the  coast 
some  fifteen  miles  to  visit  Tamasese.  The  enclosure  C  is  a  report  of  the 
speeches  made  on  the  occasion. 

The  German  ships  left  on  the  16th,  and  on  the  same  day  the  British 
man-of-war  Diamond  arrived.  Her  conrmanding  officer  called  on  Malie- 
toa, and  on  the  following  day,  May  17th,  he  was  received  on  board 
with  a  twenty-one  gun  salute. 

During  the  firing  of  this  salute  Mr.  Greenebaum  again  hoisted  the 
Samoan  flag,  with  the  flag  of  the  United  States  over  it,  oh  the  Gov- 
ernment house,  where  it  is  now  displayed  daily. 

Although  this  ship  is  "not  by  the  regulations  a  saluting  ship,  I 
thought  it  proper  under  the  circumstances  to  let  it  be  known  that  the 
United  States  recognized  Malietoa  as  King  of  Samoa,  and  arranged  to 
receive  him  on  board  this  vessel  on  the  21st,  when  he  was  given 
twenty-one  guns  and  all  the  honors.  On  Saturday  night,  the  22d, 
Malietoa  came  on  board  and  suggested  that  the  United  States  Consul 
and  myself  should  go  down  with  the  ship  and  have  an  interview  with 
Tamasese,  and  see  if  we  could  not  bring  him  up  to  Apia  to  talk  mat- 
ters over  and  try  to  reach  an  amicable  settlement.  He  (Malietoa} 
would  at  the  same  time  move  his  forces  to  'the  boundaries  of  Tamas- 
ese's  province  (he  is  governor  of  Aana),  in  order  to  show  that  he  had 
the  greater  number,  but  promised  that  there  should  be  no  attack  made 
on  his  part. 

I  saw  no  objection  to  the  arrangement,  and  the  demonstration  was 
fixed  for  Tuesday  morning,  25th.  The  British  Consul  was  invited  and 
accepted  the  invitation  to  go  with  us.  Tamasese  was  not  inclined  to 
see  us,  and  when  we  appeared  off  his  town  he  sent  out  a  letter  saying 
that  we  were  accompanied  by  Samoan  men,  and  he  could  not  allow 
them  on  his  territory. 

We  replied  that  we  would  leave  the  Samoans  on  the  boat.  After 
we  landed  he  tried  to  evade  an  interview,  and  it  was  only  by  sending  a 
demand  that  he  should  come  at  once  that  we  got  him.  We  tried  to 
make  a  satisfactory  arrangement  with  him,  but  had  no  success. 

This  rebellion  of  Tamaaese  was  set  going  and  has  been  kept  going. 
by  the  Germans,  the  principal  man  amongst  them  being  one  Weber. 


Official  Correspondence.  231 


When  I  returned  to  the  ship  I  found  the  German  Consul  and  Vice- 
Consul  on  Board.  1  invited  the  gentlemen  to  take  passage  on  the 
Mohican  to  Apia,  and  it  was  arranged  that  there  should  be  a  meeting  of 
the  Consuls  and  commanding  officers,  with  a  view  to  devising  some 
means  by  which  the  threatened  civil  war  would  be  averted.  The 
meeting  was  held  on  board  this  vessel,  and  a  proclamation  was  agreed 
on,  a  copy  of  which  is  inclosed  (D). 

Yesterday  the  King  Malietoa  requested  a  meeting  of  Consuls  and 
commanding  officers  at  the  Government  house.  The  German  Consul 
did  not  attend,  but  signified  his  willingness  to  join  in  whatever  was 
agreed  on  that  he  could  do  reasonably. 

Malietoa  told  us  that  he  had  called  the  meeting  to  inform  us  that 
his  Government  had  resolved  on  war.  He  had  restrained  his  anger 
for  eighteen  months  in  the  hope  that  in  some  way  peace  could  be 
maintained,  and  he  now  saw  no  other  course  left.  Still  he  was  ready 
to  receive  and  consider  any  advice  that  we  might  have  to  offer.  It 
was  suggested  that  the  proclamation  agreed  on  by  the  consuls  had  not 
yet  been  circulated,  and  it  would  be  well  to  wait  and  see  if  it  would 
not  have  the  effect  of  causing  Tamasese's  followers  to  drop  away 
from  him.  Malietoa  said  he  was  willing  to  do  anything  reasonable, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  German  Consul  should  be  requested  to 
write  a  letter  to  Tamasese,  urging  him  to  withdraw  his  men  from  their 
forts  on  the  border  within  twenty-four  hours,  and  return  peacefully 
to  their  homes  by  noon  of  June  2d — five  days'  notice.  The  alterna- 
tive would  be  immediate  war.  The  German  Consul  agreed  to  use  his 
best  endeavors  to  indxice  Tamasese  to  accept,  on  condition  that  Mali- 
etoa would  immediately  withdraw  his  Monono  and  Savaii  men  from 
the  west  side  of  Tamasese,  so  that  they  might  have  a  reasonable  chance 
of  escape  if  treacherously  attacked  after  leaving  their  works.  This 
was  agreed  to,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  it  seems  more  than  probable 
that  war  will  be  avoided  for  the  present. 

Inclosed  are  additional  papers,  to-day  received,  relating  to  this 
matter. 

It  will  be  observed,  by  inclosure  E,  the  German  Consul  has  re- 
leased his  attachment  of  the  municipal  rights  of  Malietoa  and  hauled 
down  the  flag  hoisted  January  23,  1885.  referred  to  on  page  3. 

As  the  Samoans  use  the  east  longitude  date,  while  we  keep  the  west, 
there  may  be  a  discrepancy  now  and  then  in  the  dates  used  by  me  and 
those  on  the  inclosures. 

The  Samoan  date  is  one  day  in  advance  of  ours. 

I  propose  to  leave  here  this  evening  to  connect  with  the  mail  steam- 
er from  San  Francisco,  but  shall  return  immediately  and  remain  to  see 
if  the  2d  of  June  agreement  is  carried  out.  As  the  German  Consul 
has  gone  in  person  to  Tamasese,  I  think  he  will  be  successful. 

Very  respectfully, 

B.  F.  DAY. 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY, 

Washington,   D.  C. 


232  Upolu. 

GEOGRAPHICAL. 

The  Samoan  or  Navigator's  group  consist  of  an 
extended  chain  of  islands,  eight  in  number,  lofty, 
and  of  volcanic  formation,  varying  in  area  from 
seven  to  seven  hundred  square  miles.  They  are 
in  fact,  a  line  of  extinct  volcanoes,  of  the  beauty 
and  fertility  of  which  no  one  can  form  a  true  esti- 
mate without  a  personal  visit. 

They  lie  between  the  latitudes  of  13°  30'  and 
14°  30'  south,  and  the  longitudes  of  169°  24'  and 
172°  50'  west.  An  imaginary  line  drawn  through 
the  centers  of  the  principal  islands  would  be  about 
west  by  north. 

UPOLU. 

Upolu,  the  middle  of  the  three  principal  ones, 
although  smaller  in  area  than  its  westernmost 
neighbor,  Savaii,  is  the  most  important  of  the  en- 
tire group,  being  not  only  the  center  of  commerce 
for  Samoa,  but  also  the  collecting  port  for  all  the 
adjacent  islands,  from  whence  numerous  small 
crafts  are  continually  bringing  produce  for  expor- 
tation. 

Upolu  is  separated  from  Savaii  by  a  channel 
about  eight  miles  in  width;  whilst  to  the  eastward 
lies  the  island  of  Tutuila,  about  forty  miles  away. 

Still  farther  to  the  east,  at  a  distance  of  about 
sixty  miles,  is  a  small  group  of  three  islands,  col- 
lectively known  as  Manua-a. 

The  names  of  the  three  islands  are  Tau,  Olosega, 
and  Ofu,  which,  with  Manono  and  Apolima — two 


Geograpliwa  I.  233 

small  islands  situated  off  the  west  corner  of  Upolu, 
between  it  and  Savaii — make  up  the  eight  islands 
worthy  of  especial  notice.  There  are  other  small 
islands  scattered  round  the  larger  ones,  but  of  no 
great  significance. 

Savaii,  the  westermost  of  the  Navigators,  is 
somewhat  rhomboid  in  shape,  and  measures  some 
seventy  miles  in  length  by  thirty  broad. 

Approaching  from  the  east,  the  island  appears 
to  be  conical  in  elevation — the  land  very  gradually 
rising  from  the  shore  and  converging  towards  a 
common  center  from  both  sides,  giving  it  this  ap- 
pearance; but  in  reality  the  interior  consists  of 
three  parallel  ranges  running  east  and  west. 

The  island,  like  the  others  of  the  group,  is  in 
parts  encircled  by  coral  reefs,  which  form  con- 
venient boat  harbors  and  shelter  for  vessels  of 
small  tonnage.  There  is,  however,  but  one  fair  har- 
bor in  the  whole  island,  that  of  Matautu,  and  this 
is  dangerous  from  January  to  April,  when  the 
north  westerly  gales  prevail. 

The  coral  reef  partly  surrounding  Savaii  breaks 
oft'  to  the  south  and  west,  when  the  coast  becomes 
iron-bound  both  in  reality  and  appearance. 

A  road  runs  round  the  edge  of  the  whole  island 
close  to  the  shore,  which  at  certain  places  has  to 
be  made  use  of,  the  interior  being  almost  im- 
passable. 

The  whole  island  from  the  top  of  the  mountains 
down  to  the  very  sea  shore,  is  densely  covered 

16 


234  An  Extinct  Volcano. 

with  bush,  in  the  midst  of  which,  on  the  mountain 
slopes  nourish  timber  trees  of  a  very  large  growth, 
which  will  be  of  great  commercial  value  when 
means  are  provided  for  bringing  them  to  the  coast. 
Besides  timber  trees,  cocoanuts  grow  most  lux- 
uriantly all  along  the  sea  coast,  but  decrease  in 
yield  the  farther  they  recede  from  it. 

TJPOLU. 

Upolu  is  the  middle  island,  lying  to  the  eastward 
of  Savaii,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  channel  about 
eight  miles  in  width  from  reef  to  reef;  and  al- 
though somewhat  less  in  area  than  Savaii,  having 
an  acreage  only  of  a  few  hundred  square  miles,  is 
by  far  the  most  important  of  the  whole  group.  It 
is  about  forty-five  miles  long,  having  an  average 
breadth  of  twenty  miles.  At  the  east  end,  as  seen 
from  the  sea,  prominently  stands  up  in  all  of  its 
majesty,  an  extinct  volcano,  (Totua)  rising  to  the 
height  of  five  thousand  feet,  thus  forming  a  mag- 
nificent landmark.  On  the  slopes  of  this  moun- 
tain, as  also  on  the  extinct  crater,  flourish  timber 
trees  of  great  age. 

Along  the  entire  island  runs  a  high  mountain 
ridge,  a  sort  of  backbone,  the  center  of  which  lies 
more  to  the  south  than  the  north.  In  some  parts 
this  ridge  is  flattened  out  on  the  top  into  extensive 
table  lands,  whilst  in  others  it  merely  rises  from 
the  one  side  to  descend  immediately  on  the  other. 

The  soil  generally  is  very  rich;  that  on  the 
table-lands  especially  so,  and  is  of  the  most  pro- 


Manono.  235 

ductive  nature.  It  consists  of  decomposed  lava 
and  decayed  vegetable  matter,  the  accumulations 
of  hundreds  of  years. 

About  sixty  miles  east  of  Tutuila  is  the  nearest 
island  of  the  Manua-a  group,  containing  an  area  of 
about  ten  square  miles,  very  rough  and  covered 
with  the  usual  Samoan  verdure.  Separated  from 
it  by  an  inconsiderable  channel  of  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  wide,  lies  the  second  largest  one— 
Olosega,  rocky  in  the  extreme,  about  twenty-four 
square  miles  in  area,  some  three  miles  long,  with 
a  breadth  in  parts  of  not  more  than  five  hundred 
yards,  precipitous  on  every  bide.  On  the  south- 
west, close  to  the  water's  edge,  a  perpendicular 
precipice  rises  quite  to  the  height  of  thirteen  hun- 
dred feet;  and  on  a  narrow  strip  of  land  between 
its  foot  and  the  sea  stands  the  town,  which,  in 
time  of  war,  the  inhabitants  desert  for  the  moun- 
tain, some  eighteen  hundred  feet  above. 

Six  miles  easterly,  again,  lies  Tau,  the  principal 
island  of  the  small  group,  having  about  a  hundred 
square  miles. 

MANONO. 

About  three  miles  off  the  easternmost  end  of 
Upolu  lies  the  small  island  of  Manono,  connected 
with  the  larger  island  by  the  same  reef.  It  is 
triangular  in  form,  rising  very  gradually  from  the 
sea  level  to  the  height  of  about  three  hundred  feet. 

In  consequence  of  having  to  support  a  large 
population  in  proportion  to  its  size  '(some  nine 


236  Apolima. 

square  miles),  and  having  been  frequently  left  to 
its  own  resources  in  fighting  times,  every  available 
space  is  cultivated ;  in  fact,  it  is  one  entire  garden. 

From  its  position  it  is,  and  always  was,  of  great 
strategic  importance  in  war  time,  being  near  to 
Upolu  and  Savaii,  either  for  offense  or  defence. 

The  people  of  Manono  are  noted  as  the  best  sea- 
men in  Samoa;  and  in  fighting  times  the  Manono 
fleet  is  always  of  great  advantage  to  the  cause  it 
embraces. 

APOLIMA. 

About  two  miles  from  Manono,  and  belonging  to 
it,  lies  the  small  island  of  Apolima  (the  hollow  of 
the  hand)  a  perfect  natural  fortress  in  itself.  It 
is  the  summit  of  an  extinct  volcano ;  some  of  the 
crater  wall  has  fallen  to  the  sea  level,  which  forms 
the  only  entrance  into  the  interior.  It  is  well 
watered  by  a  never  failing  running  spring. 

Upolu  is  well  off  for  harbors  capable  of  accom- 
modating vessels  of  great  size.  Of  all  the  other 
harbors,  Apia  is  the  largest,  and  can  contain  any 
number  of  vessels.  Saluafata  can  accommodate 
with  safety  vessels  of  good  size,  whilst  on  the 
south  coast  Falealili  and  Lefaga,  in  a  minor  de- 
gree, are  available  for  commercial  purposes. 

PAGO- PAGO.  (Pango-Pango.) 

Tutuila,  the  most  eastern  and  smallest  of  the 
principal  islands,  about  forty  miles  from  the  near- 
est point  of  Upolu,  is  considered  to  be  the  most 
beautiful.  It  is  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 


Apia — Language.  237 

in  circumference,  nearly  divided  in  the  center  by 
a  great  indentation  which  forms  the  renowned 
harbor  of  Pango-Pango,  which  is  the  grand  harbor 
of  the  south  seas. 

THE  HARBOR  OF  APIA. 

The  harbor  of  Apia  is  a  very  beautiful  one,  and 
is  formed,  like  all  others  in  the  South  seas,  by  a 
coral  reef,  running  for  almost  the  entire  distance 
across  the  mouth  of  a  large  bay.  The  entrance  is 
narrow,  but  the  reefs  are  plainly  discernible.  An- 
other reef  runs  out  from  the  shore  for  some  dis- 
tance, dividing  the  harbor  into  two  sections.  Small 
vessels  only,  use  the  southern  portion,  as  it  has  less 
water,  and  the  entrance  is  more  difficult. 

LANGUAGE. 

The  Samoan  language  is  very  musical,  and 
sounds  not  unlike  Italian.  Every  syllable  ends  with 
a  vowel,  and  the  accent  is  on  the  last  syllable  but 
one.  It  is  also  a  very  easy  language  to  pick  up, 
but  the  pronunciation  is  sometimes  puzzling,  as  the 
same  letters  are  often  pronounced  in  different 
ways,  and  some  words  have  totally  different  mean- 
ing, according  to  the  pronunciation.  A  few  words 
will  show  how  musical  this  language  is ;  the  reader 
remembering  that  every  letter  is  distinctly  sounded 
and  pronounced,  as  in  Italian;  for  instance,  "ioe," 
yes;  "  leai,"  no;  "piapia,"  foam  of  the  sea; 
""manu,"  bird;  "talofa,"  greeting;  "uliuli,"  black; 
•"moana,"  the  deep  sea. — Pearls  of  the  Pacific. 


238  Making  the  Cloth. 

TAPPA. 

Tappa  is  made  from  the  bark  of  the  paper-mul- 
berry tree.  The  inside  lining  is  stripped  off,  and 
the  narrow  strips  are  laid  in  the  bed  of  a  running 
stream  to  soak  for  some  days.  When  steeped  suf- 
ficiently the  different  strips  are  laid  one  by  one 
in  layers,  on  a  flat  log  of  wood,  and  then  beaten 
out  to  the  width  required  by  heavy  wooden  mal- 
lets which  have  four  grooved  sides,  each  side  in- 
creasing in  firmness  of  groove,  the  coarsest  side 
being  used  first,  and  so  on  progressively.  After 
being  beaten  for  some  time  the  strips  become 
blended  into  one  mass,  and  by  adding  fresh  bark 
can  be  increased  to  any  width  or  length.  In  this 
way  it  is  also  made  to  vary  in  substance,  and  so- 
dexterous  are  the  natives  in  the  use  of  the  mallet 
that  they  can  make  tappa  as  thin  as  gold  leaf.  The 
new-made  tappa  is  then  spread  out  on  the  grass  to- 
dry  and  bleach.  Sometimes  it  is  dyed  in  various 
patterns,  and  great  originality  of  design  is  fre- 
quently seen.  The  size  of  some  of  the  tappa  is 
extraordinary.  Some  of  them  are  over  one  hun- 
dred feet  square. 

In  the  evening  the  Samoans  envelope  themselves- 
in  tappa,  as  the  dews  are  very  heavy,  and  stalk 
down  like  great  ghosts  from  their  own  town  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  saloons  in  the  white  quarter. 
There  they  sit  or  stand  about  in  groups  under 
the  trees  listening  to  the  music,  accordion  or  con- 
certina, and  watching  the  dancing,  which  is  a  cer- 
tain accompaniment  to  the  sailor-life  on  shore.— 
Pearls  of  the  Pacific. 


The  Sliding  Rock.  239 

WATER-FALL    OF    PAPASEE. 

(See  Illustrations.') 

"At  last,  after  descending  a  steeper  part  of  the 
mountain  than  usual,  we  heard  the  whisper  of  a 
water-fall,  and  down  in  a  beautiful  ravine  we  saw 
a  swiftly  flowing  rivulet.  The  stream  tumbled 
from  ledge  to  ledge  of  broken  rock,  and  rushed  in 
little  rills  from  a  high  background  of  sea-green 
foliage  into  a  broad  stretch  of  rock  and  moss-cov- 
ered stones.  From  this  gorge,  whose  sides  were  a 
mass  of  ferns  and  broad-leaved  plants  over  which 
water  trickled  and  sparkled  like  shaken  dew- 
drops,  it  leapt  again  down  an  almost  perpendicular 
precipice,  about  five  and  thirty  feet  high,  into  a 
deep,  broad  pool,  cradled  in  fern  and  surrounded 
by  lofty  trees  and  wild  plaintains,  and  finally  dis- 
appeared amid  foliage  and  verdure,  leaping  and 
dancing  on  its  way  to  the  valley  below. 

I  was  going  to  descend  from  the  first  plateau,  in 
order  to  indulge  in  a  plunge  into  the  broad  basin  • 
but  the  guide  stopped  me  and  intimated  that  he 
would  show  me  how  the  bath  was  to  be  taken.  He 
then  entered  the  stream  and  cautiously  advanced 
until  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  high  fall.  There 
he  balanced  himself  for  a  moment  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture, holding  on  with  his  hands  to  the  slippery 
rocks  on  either  side;  then,  letting  go,  he  suddenly 
shot  down  like  an  arrow  into  the  deep  pool.  I 
did  not  half  like  it,  but  as  it  would  never  have 
done  to  be  beaten  by  a  browny,  I  crept  to  the  edge, 


240  A  Sensation. 

holding  on  like  grim  death.  Just  as  I  was  letting 
go  the  thought  struck  me  that  if  I  was  not  exactly 
in  the  right  place  a  sharp,  projecting  rock  might 
make  me  commit  an  involuntary  "  hari-kari."  But 
the  thought  came  too  late;  I  was  already  sliding 
into  the  pool,  and  the  next  sensation  I  experienced 
was  that  of  reaching  the  surface  of  the  water  from 
apparently  fathomless  depths.  Having  accom- 
plished the  slide  once,  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
repeating  it  several  times,  and  each  plunge  was 
more  delightful  than  the  preceding  one.  The  only 
drawback  to  the  pleasure  was  the  necessity  of 
climbing  up  very  steep  and  slippery  rock-work  to 
get  back  to  the  starting  point.  I  must  say  I  should 
like  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  somebody  else 
make  his  or  her — for  women  slide  down  as  well  as 
men — first  attempt;  for  my  part,  I  know  I  shut 
my  eyes  and  opened  my  mouth ;  and  the  smiles  on  the 
native's  face,  which  were  playing  long  after  I  had 
sputtered  to  the  surface,  showed  me  what  amuse- 
ment I  had  caused. 

The  continual  flow  of  water  over  the  rock  has 
rendered  it  as  smooth  as  glass,  and  as  slippery  as 
ice,  consequently  there  is  no  danger  of  hurting 
yourself,  and  the  novelty  of  the  situation,  com- 
bined with  its  safety,  makes  a  bath  in  the  Sliding 
Fall  thoroughly  enjoyable." — Pearls  of  the  Pacific. 

DR.  TURNER'S  COLLEGE. 

"You  must  not  infer  from  my  speaking  of  a  col- 
lege, that  Malua  bears  the  slightest  resemblance  to 


Natural   Orators.  241 

any  collegiate  institution  in  Europe.  It  is  essen- 
tially South  Sea,  which  means  that  it  is  suitable  to 
the  climate  and  the  people,  and  it  consists  of  a 
large  village  about  sixty  neat  thatched  cottages, 
laid  out  in  a  square,  at  one  side  of  which  stands 
the  large  class  room.  Each  cottage  is  the  home  of 
a  student  with  his  wife  and  family,  preference  in 
the  filling  up  of  vacancies  being  given  to  married 
men,  both  as  a  means  of  educating  the  women  and 
children,  and  also  because  the  people,  in  applying 
for  teachers,  generally  ask  for  some  one  whose  wife 
can  teach  their  wives  and  daughters. 

Each  home  is  embowered  in  pleasant  greenery 
and  bright  flowers,  for  each  student  is  required  to 
cultivate  a  garden  sufficient  for  the  requirements 
of  his  family,  and  to  raise  a  surplus  supply,  which 
he  may  sell  to  provide  them  with  clothing. 

Dr.  Turner  himself  founded  this  college  in  the 
year  1 844,  when  the  mission  began  to  realize  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  keeping  up  a  supply  of 
trained  teachers,  not  only  for  two  districts  in  the 
group  itself,  but  for  the  numerous  other  isles  to 
which  Samoan  teachers  had  gone  forth  as  pioneers. 
—Lady's  Cruise. 

SPEAKING. 

The  Samoans  are  natural  orators,  and  love  to  il- 
lustrate their  subjects  with  facts  and  comparisons 
from  every  source  within  their  ken.  So  the 
preacher  who  would  rivet  the  attention  of  his 
hearers  needed  to  have  studied  his  subject  well. 


242  Dr.  Turner's  College. 

But  at  that  time  he  had  no  books  to  help  him,  no 
commentaries  to  refer  to,  only  a  translation  of 
three  gospels  and  a  few  scriptural  lessons ;  and 
many  a  teacher  felt,  what  one  expressed,  namely: 
that  he  was  like  a  man  attempting  to  cut  down  a 
forest  with  a  blunt  ax ;  or  like  a  foolish  man,  al- 
ways hammering,  but  never  hitting  the  nail  on  the 
head. 

The  necessity  of  an  educational  institution  was 
therefore  apparent,  and  the  chiefs  were  so  favora- 
bly disposed  to  the  scheme,  that  they  offered  to 
clear  out  a  whole  village  and  to  make  it  over  to 
the  mission.  It  was,  however,  considered  prefera- 
ble to  buy  a  piece  of  land  on  the  coast,  in  a  place 
quite  apart  from  all  other  settlements;  so  Malua 
was  selected,  and  thirty  acres  of  land  purchased  in 
due  form.  This  land  was  reclaimed  from  the  bush 
by  the  students  themselves,  who  raise  yams,  taro, 
and  bananas  in  abundance,  and  have  also  planted 
several  thousand  bread  fruit  trees,  cocoa-palms, 
and  other  fruit-bearing  trees;  so  that  this  noble 
institution  is  almost,  if  not  altogether,  self-sup- 
porting. 

From  its  commencement  to  the  present  day, 
fully  two  thousand  native  ministers  have  been 
here  trained,  including  a  considerable  number  of 
men  from  far-distant  Papuan  Isles — from  the  New 
Hebrides,  New  Caledonia,  the  Tokelau,  and  Savage 
Isles — all  speaking  different  tongues,  but  here 
meeting  together  to  learn  what  they  can,  and  then 
carry  the  truth  to  their  own  distant  isles. 


Observing  Sunday.  243 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  healthier,  hap- 
pier life  than  that  of  these  students.  At  the  first 
glimmer  of  the  lovely  tropical  dawn,  the  college 
bell  rings  to  mark  the  hour  for  household  prayer. 
(There  is  probably  not  a  house  in  Samoa  where  the 
family  do  not  assemble  daily  for  morning  and  eve- 
ning prayer.)  Then  all  the  students  go  out,  either 
to  work  in  the  gardens  or  to  fish  in  the  calm  la- 
goon. At  eight  the  bell  rings  again  to  warn  them 
that  it  is  time  to  bathe  and  breakfast,  to  be  ready 
for  their  class  at  nine.  Classes  and  lectures  con- 
tinue till  four,  when  they  are  again  free  to  go  fish- 
ing, gardening,  carpentering,  or  whatever  they 
prefer.  At  sunset  each  family  meets  for  evening 
prayer;  then  the  men  study  by  themselves  till 
half-past  nine,  when  the  curfew  bell  warns  them 
to  put  out  their  lights. 

On  Saturday  evening  there  is  a  prayer-meeting 
in  the  institution  chapel,  when  the  students  take 
it  in  turn  to  deliver  a  short  address. 

Sunday  is  of  course  observed  very  strictly.  The 
day  begins  with  a  prayer-meeting  at  six.  At 
morning  and  afternoon  services  all  the  neighbor- 
ing villagers  assemble,  and  the  intervening  and 
later  hours  are  filled  up  with  Sunday-school  for 
children  and  Bible-classes  for  adults.  A  simple 
service,  with  a  good  deal  of  singing,  ends  the  day. 
The  Holy  Communion  is  celebrated  on  the  first 
Sunday  of  each  month. 

The  institution  rules  are    few  and  simple;  but 


244  Beginning  of  Mission  Work. 

for  any  infringement  of  them  the  penalty  is  a  fine, 
which  goes  towards  the  expense  of  lights. 

The  course  of  instruction  includes  arithmetic, 
geography,  natural  philosophy,  writing,  composi- 
tion, Scripture  history,  and  systematic  and  practi- 
cal theology.  For  the  lack  of  books,  Dr.  Turner 
and  his  fellow-tutor  found  it  necessary,  day  by 
day,  to  write  out  copious  notes  of  their  lectures, 
and  give  them  to  all  the  young  men  to  copy.  Con- 
sequently each,  on  leaving  the  college,  at  the  end 
of  a  four  years'  course,  carries  with  him  a  large 
store  of  papers  for  reference. 

Thanks  to  the  diligent  labors  of  Dr.  Turner  and 
his  colleagues  (who  during  many  years  devoted 
about  five  hours  daily  to  preparing  translations  for 
publication).  The  libraries  of  Samoa  now  contain 
Scripture  narratives  and  commentaries  on  the  Old 
Testament  —  commentaries  on  the  Epistles  and 
Gospels,  Elements  of  Astronomy,  Elements  of  Nat- 
ural Philosophy,  and  various  other  works. 

When  the  students  are  considered  sufficiently 
advanced,  they  are  occasionally  sent  to  help  the 
teacher  of  one  of  the  neighboring  villages,  and 
practice  the  art  of  teaching  ere  being  appointed  to 
the  sole  charge  of  a  congregation.  Of  course,  only 
the  well-tried  men  are  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
native  minister. 

Dr.  Turner  began  his  mission  career  in  stormy 
times.  Soon  after  the  Rev.  John  Williams  had 
been  treacherously  murdered  at  Eromanga,  in  the 


Progress  of  Work.  245 

New  Hebrides,  in  November,  1839,  the  London 
Mission  Society  determined  to  make  a  renewed 
effort  for  the  conversion  of  its  fierce,  inveterate 
cannibals.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turner  were,  accordingly, 
sent  on  this  most  dangerous  mission.  They  were 
joined  in  Samoa  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nisbet,  and  to- 
gether proceeded  to  the  New  Hebrides. 

The  day  before  Mr.  Williams'  death  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  landing  three  Samoan  teachers  as 
pioneers  on  the  Isle  of  Tanna,  twenty  miles  from 
Eramanga.  To  this  isle  the  missionaries  now 
sailed — not  without  grave  doubts  whether  they 
should  find  the  teachers  alive.  (It  was  now  June, 
1842.)  They  found  them  safe,  but  their  work  had 
made  small  progress.  The  people  were  continually 
at  war,  and  most  unconscionable  thieves.  They 
had,  however,  two  good  points;  infanticide  was 
not  common,  and  they  were  careful  of  their  own 
sick,  so  far  as  they  knew  how.  But  wilder  and 
more  savage  surroundings  could  scarcely  be  con- 
ceived than  those  in  which  the  Turners  and  Nis- 
bets  found  themselves  left  when  the  little  vessel 
which  had  brought  them  from  Samoa  had  sailed 
away. 

Seeing  no  possibility  of  establishing  a  mission  on 
any  of  the  neighboring  isles,  Mr.  Turner  induced 
Captain  Lucas  to  convey  the  whole  party  back  to 
Samoa — a  journey  which  was  not  without  danger, 
owing  to  baffling  winds  and  the  lack  of  any  relia- 
ble chart.  In  due  time  they  reached  Apia,  where 


246  Transformed  to  Christians. 

they  found  welcome  and  much  needed  rest  and 
comfort. 

Soon  after,  Mr.  Turner  was  appointed  to  the 
charge  of  a  district  in  Samoa,  which  gave  him  the 
care  of  sixteen  villages;  but  ere  long  the  pressing 
need  of  teachers  led  to  the  commencement  of  the 
training  college,  where,  with  the  exception  of  oc- 
casional voyages  to  the  New  Hebrides  and  other 
groups,  he  and  his  successive  colleagues  have  ever 
since  found  abundant  work,  in  training  native 
evangelists,  translating  valuable  books,  and,  so 
far  as  lay  in  their  power  (not  having  received  a 
regular  medical  training),  in  ministering  to  the 
temporal  needs  of  the  people,  administering  such 
medicines  as  they  could  procure,  and  even,  under 
pressure  of  necessity  attending  to  surgical  cases. 

Dr.  Turner  takes  high  rank  among  the  apostles 
of  the  Pacific.  Few  men  living  know  better,  from 
their  own  experience,  how  marvelous  has  been  the 
change  wrought  in  the  last  forty  years,  by  which 
barbarous  cannibals  have  been  transformed  into 
peaceful  Christians. 

MISSIONS. 

The  extraordinary  success  of  the  South  Sea 
missions  is  certainly  to  be  attributed  in  a  great 
measure  to  that  triumph  of  common  sense  which 
made  the  various  societies  agree,  almost  at  the 
outset,  in  a  great  meas'ure  to  divide  the  field  of 
labor,  and  so  endeavor  to  avoid  distracting  the 
minds  of  the  simple  islanders,  by  allowing  them 


American  Board.  247 

to  perceive  that  their  teachers  could  possibly  dis- 
agree among  themselves. 

In  the  North  Pacific  some  good  working  power 
has  doubtless  been  lost  by  the  establishment  in  the 
Sandwich  Isles  of  both  an  English  Episcopal  Mis- 
sion and  American  Congregationalists.  The  Dow- 
ager Queen  Emma  is  a  staunch  adherent  of  the 
English  Church  as  was  also  her  husband,  who  him- 
self translated  the  prayer  book  into  the  Hawaiian 
language.  But  the  majority  of  the  people  there 
(as  throughout  Polynesia)  find  the  less  cere- 
monious forms  of  religious  observance  better 
adapted  to  their  needs. 

So  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
which  commenced  its  work  in  1820,  met  with  such 
success,  that  within  half  a  century  the  whole  group 
had  been  evangelized  and  a  self-supporting  native 
church,  with  native  pastors,  established.  It  is  now 
extending  its  operations  among  the  islands  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  Pacific,  between  the  equa- 
tor and  Japan.  These  are  collectively  described 
as  Micronesia  on  account  of  their  extremely  small 
size,  the  majority  being  simply  low  atolls,  few  of 
which  rise  more  than  ten  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  ocean. 

The  southwestern  isles  of  the  Pacific,  which 
come  under  the  general  name  of  Melanesia,  are 
chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  English  Church  Socie- 
ties, and  of  the  Presbyterian  Missions. 

The  countless   large    groups  which  occupy  the 


248  A  Marvelous  Growth. 

southeast  of  the  ocean,  and  are  generally  described 
as  Polynesia  have  been  almost  entirely  Christian- 
ized by  the  London  and  Wesleyan  Missions. 

Shortly  after  Captain  Cook's  discoveries  had  first 
drawn  attention  to  the  existence  of  these  unex- 
plored regions,  the  London  Mission  which  includes 
men  of  all  the  Evangelical  sects,  began  its  work  by 
sending  men  to  the  Marquesas,  the  Society  Isles 
(Tahiti  and  Raiatea),  and  to  Tonga. 

Of  the  sad  fate  which  befell  the  first  Tongan 
missionaries,  I  have  already  spoken.  Three  were 
murdered,  and  the  rest  compelled  to  fly  for  their 
lives.  Some  years  later,  the  Wesleyan  Mission 
ventured  to  reoccupy  the  field,  when  they  found 
the  people  somewhat  penitent.  They  were  able 
to  establish  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
some  friendly  chiefs,  and  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  Christianity  was  striking  firm  deep  roots 
in  the  soil  which  at  first  seemed  so  unpromising. 

Truly  marvelous  has  been  the  growth  of  the  tree 
thus  watered  by  the  blood  of  those  brave  pioneers. 
Eighty  years  have  elapsed  since  their  martyrdom, 
at  which  time  there  was  not  one  isle  in  the  whole 
Pacific  which  was  not  steeped  in  debasing  heathen- 
ism and  cruel  wars.  Now,  throughout  Polynesia, 
idolatry  is  a  thing  of  the  past;  none  of  the  present 
generation  have  ever  seen  the  wood  and  stone  gods 
of  their  fathers.  Infanticide  and  murder  are 
probably  less  common  than  in  Europe,  and  a  rev- 
erent obedience  to  all  Christian  precepts  a  good 


Sixty  Thousand  Communicants,  249 

deal  more  apparent  than  in  civilized  countries.  On 
upwards  of  three  hundred  isles  (where  in  the  early 
half  of  this  century  no  boat  could  have  touched 
without  imminent  danger),  Christianity  of  a  really 
practical  sort  now  reigns.  Upwards  of  a  quarter 
of  a  million  persons  show  their  faith  in  its  require- 
ments by  utterly  changed  lives,  and  at  least  sixty 
thousand  of  these  are  regular  communicants.  The 
casual  traveler,  who,  a  few  years  ago,  would  almost 
inevitably  have  been  killed  had  he  ventured  to 
land,  is  now  chiefly  in  danger  of  asserting  that  the 
natives  have  been  trained  to  be  religious  overmuch 
—their  "innocent  nature"  cramped;  and  so  the 
chances  are,  that  without  intending  to  do  mischief, 
he  throws  his  influence  of  the  moment  into  the 
opposite  scale,  and  is  perhaps  a  source  of  more  evil 
than  he  dreams  of. 

Having  not  only  succeeded  in  transforming  the 
savage  Tongans  into  earnest  Christians,  but  also 
into  most  zealous  and  capable  teachers,  the  Wes- 
leyan  Missionaries  made  their  way  to  Fiji,  where 
their  success  was  still  more  wonderful,  and  a  race 
of  most  cruel  cannibals  has  become  one  of  the 
gentlest  on  earth. 

About  the  same  time  the  Samoan  isles,  which 
were  then  an  almost  unknown  group,  were  sought 
out  by  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  of  the  London 
Mission,  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  successful  of 
the  early  pioneers.  He  began  his  work  at  Raiatea, 

17 


250  Giving  up  Their  Idols. 

in  the  year  1817,  with  such  success,  that  when,  in 
1821,  an  opportunity  presented  itself  of  visiting 
the  Hervey  Isles  (of  which  nothing  was  known, 
except  that  such  a  group  existed),  several  converts 
from  Raiatea  volunteered  to  go  there  as  pioneers. 
They  were  accordingly  landed  on  the  isle  of  Aitu- 
taki,  the  very  name  of  which  might  have  sug- 
gested encouragement.  There  they  were  favora- 
bly received  by  Tamatoa,  the  chief,  and  his  peo- 
ple. Nevertheless,  as  it  was  well  known  that  these 
were  all  cannibals,  and  constantly  at  war  with  one 
another,  it  was  not  without  deep  anxiety  that  Mr. 
Williams  left  the  teachers  to  begin  the  mission. 
When,  however,  in  the  following  year,  he  returned 
to  the  group,  in  company  with  Mr.  Bourne,  they 
were  received  with  the  glad  tidings  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Aitutaki  had  all,  without  exception  abjured 
idolatry,  burnt  their  "  marais,"  and  begun  to  wor- 
ship the  Saviour;  that  they  had  built  a  large  church, 
and  rigidly  hallowed  the  Sabbath.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  nearly  two  thousand  of  these  now  tame 
savages  assembled  on  the  shore,  and  all  knelt  to- 
gether in  solemn  jprayer  to  the  Christian's  God; 
after  which  they  brought  thirty  of  their  discarded 
idols,  and  carried  them  on  board  the  mission  ship, 
that  the  men  of  other  isles  beholding  them  might 
know  that  they  were  no  gods,  but  only  worthless 
images,  and  so  might  be  led  to  discard  their  own." 
(For  the  above  sketch  of  missionary  work,  we 
are  indebted  to  the  interesting  volume  entitled 


An  Interesting  Book.  251 

"A  Lady's  Cruise  in  a  French  Man-of-War,"  writ- 
ten by  C.  F.  Giordan  Gumming  (with  whom  Laulii 
was  personally  acquainted,  being  a  child  when 
Miss  Cummings  visited  Samoa) ;  and  would  advise 
all  those  taking  an  interest  in  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  in  the  South  Seas  to  procure  and  read 
carefully  that  work,  as  the  details  are  exhaustively 
given  in  an  attractive  manner,  in  said  book  by 
said  lady.  We  cannot  refrain,  however,  from  ex- 
tracting one  more  sentence :) 

"The  Samoans,  however,  were  diligent  in  the 
worship  of  their  own  ancestors,  and,  moreover, 
supposed  that  the  spirit  of  their  gods  animated 
diverse  birds,  fishes  or  reptiles.  As  certain  Indian 
tribes  have  adopted  different  animals  as  their 
^'totem  god,"  so  in  Samoa  and  the  Hervey  Isles, 
each  chief  has  his  aitu,  some  living  creature,  which 
to  him  and  to  his  people  was  sacred ;  and  foreigners, 
ignorant  of  this  matter,  sometimes  incurred  serious 
danger  from  accidentally  killing  some  revered  rep- 
tile, or  even  insect.  The  man  who  found  a  dead 
body  of  his  representative  deity,  say  an  owl,  a 
heron,  or  a  bat,  would  stop  and  wail  piteously, 
beating  his  own  forehead  with  stones  till  it  bled; 
then  wrapping  up  the  poor  dead  creature  with  all 
reverence,  he  would  solemnly  bury  it,  with  as 
much  care  as  if  it  had  been  a  near  relation.  This 
was  supposed  to  be  pleasing  to  the  gods.  When, 
therefore,  any  Samoan  resolved  to  declare  himself 
a  Christian,  he  commenced  by  killing  and  eating 


252  Various  Denominations. 

the  familiar  spirit  of  his  tribe,  whether  grass- 
hopper, centipede,  octopus,  vampire  bat,  snake,  eel, 
lizard,  parrot,  or  other  creature. 

DIFFERENT    DENOMINATIONS. 

While  both  the  London  Mission  and  the  Wes- 
leyans  have  done  some  excellent  work  in  Samoa, 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  corner  of  rivalry  should 
have  contrived  to  creep  in — a  rootlet  of  bitternessr 
not  very  serious  perhaps,  but  still  a  corner  of  con- 
tention. It  appears  that  at  the  time  when  Mr, 
Williams  first  landed  in  Samoa,  in  1830,  several 
native  teachers  from  the  Wesleyan  Mission  in 
Tonga  had  already  begun  to  work  there,  and  the 
promise  of  white  teachers  had  already  been  made 
to  expectant  congregations.  When,  therefore,  in 
1 835,  the  Rev.  Peter  Turner,  of  the  Wesleyan 
Mission,  reached  the  isle  of  Manono,  he  was  received 
with  open  arms  by  a  zealous  flock;  and  whenr 
shortly  afterwards,  he  traveled  round  the  isles  of 
Savaii  and  Upolu,  he  found  more  than  two  thous- 
and persons  who  were  members  of  the  Tonga 
ulotu"  and  forty  persons  wTho  were  acting  as 
teachers. 

At  that  time  the  Tahiti  lotu,  i.e.,  the  London 
Mission,  was  only  represented  by  five  or  six  Tahi- 
tian  teachers,  who  were  located  at  certain  towns, 
and  confined  their  labors  to  their  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. On  Mr.  Turner's  arrival  he  commenced 
diligently  seeking  the  people  in  all  parts  of  the- 


The  First  Resident  Missionary.  253 

isles,  with  such  marked  result  that  within  twenty 
months  upwards  of  13,000  persons  had  joined  the 
Tonga  "lotu." 

The  Wesleyans  specially  note  that  Mr.  Turner 
was  the  first  resident  white  missionary  in  Samoa. 
Some  months  after  his  arrival  came  a  trading  ship, 
which  brought  Mr.  Pratt,  as  representative  of  the 
London  Mission;  and  in  1836,  six  missionaries  of 
the  London  Society  arrived  and  held  a  public 
meeting  in  the  Tahitian  chapel  at  Manono,  when 
it  was  clearly  proved  that  a  considerable  number 
of  Samoans  had  adopted  the  Tonga  "  lotu  "  before 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Williams,  though  they  only  met 
for  worship  quietly  in  their  own  homes.  The  Ta- 
hitian teachers  were  the  first  who  began  to  conduct 
public  services,  but  their  adherents  were  found  to 
be  numerically  fewer  than  those  of  the  Tongans. 

Stress  is  laid  on  these  details,  because  it  was  al- 
leged by  the  London  Mission  that  Messrs.  N. 
Turner  and  Cross  had  agreed  with  Mr.  Williams  to 
devote  their  efforts  to  the  Fijian  group,  and  leave 
the  Navigator's  Isles  to  the  London  Mission. 
Messrs.  Turner  and  Cross,  on  the  -other  hand,  en- 
tirely repudiate  any  such  compact,  and  state  that 
the  first  they  heard  of  it  was  when  the  London 
missionaries  arrived  in  Samoa,  where  their  agent 
was  already  established,  in  accordance  with  their 
promise  to  the  friendly  chiefs. 

As  neither  party  were  inclined  to  yield,  both 
missions  continued  to  work  simultaneously,  each 


254  Beautiful  Description. 

acknowledging  the  good  work  done  by  the  other, 
yet  regretting  the  division,  which  might  so  easily 
have  been  avoided.  However,  it  has  been  a  sacri- 
fice of  uniformity  rather  than  of  unity ;  and  I  sup- 
pose the  church  militant  must  always  be  made  up 
of  diverse  regiments. 

WORD    PAINTING. 

"  Behind  the  cocoa  fringe  the  land  sweeps  up 
into  lovely  wooded  hills,  some  four  thousand  feet 
high,  not  so  abruptly  picturesque,  perhaps,  as  the 
general  tone  of  the  Society  Islands,  but  marked 
with  beautiful  curves  and  long  graceful  sweeps  of 
vivid  green.  Here  and  there,  valleys  permit  one 
to  see  far  away  up  into  the  mysterious  heart  of  the 
hills,  where  many  a  strange  and  wierd  thing  may 
be  enacting  at  this  moment  in  the  gloom  of  the 
forest.  Far  away  is  the  gleam  and  glitter  of  an 
enormous  waterfall,  marking  the  green  with  a  sil- 
ver bar  which  it  takes  a  whole  long  day's  walking 
to  reach.  The  timber,  generally,  is  finer  than  that 
of  the  Society  Islands,  and  the  varied  richness  of 
the  coloring  infinitely  superior.  When  we  pene- 
trate into  the  interior,  we  find  ravines,  sharp  and 
abrupt  enough  to  be  highly  picturesque  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  though  even  there  the  grimmest 
of  crags  has  almost  invariably  decked  his  bald  pate 
with  the  loveliest  greenery." — South  Sea  Bubbles. 


The  Recent  Disaster.  255 

Just  before  our  book  goes  to  press  we  receive 
the  news  of  the  terrible  disaster  and  destruction 
of  many  of  the  war-ships  of  the  various  govern- 
ments in  the  harbor  of  Apia,  and  of  the  sad  loss  of 
life  by  many  officers  and  seamen  of  these  vessels, 
in  consequence  of  a  mighty  hurricane. 

Our  hearts  are  saddened  to  hear  of  the  death  of 
so  many  brave  men,  and  we  tender  to  the  many 
homes  made  desolate  by  this  great  misfortune  our 
sincere  and  earnest  sympathy. 

In  the  midst  of  this  gloom  and  sorrow  we  rejoice 
to  know  that  our  people  showed  forth  the  nobility 
of  their  nature,  and  unselfishly  and  promptly  ren- 
dered every  assistance  in  their  power. 

For  the  time,  at  least,  humanity  reigned  su- 
preme; Mataafa,  the  King,  and  his  followers  for- 
got, in  the  face  of  this  storm  of  death,  the  wrongs 
received  from  those  whose  very  presence  in  the 
harbor  in  their  war-vessels  was  a  menace  and 
defiance  to  them,  and  nobly  periled  their  lives  to 
save  those  of  recognized  foes,  as  well  as  friends. 

Are  such  as  these  the  acts  of  barbarians  and 
savages?  Does  not  the  world  recognize  such 
deeds  as  worthy  of  heroes,  and  will  they  not  add 
another  plea  in  favor  of  our  people  of  Samoa  ? 


GUAVA.     (Page  154.) 


Paul 


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